Making it to the Show

I was happy to see the Durham Bulls clinch the IL South, but on the very next day, this happened:

The best part about making the show?


CHA-CHING!!!  League minimum, baby!

So with this September callup, my first baseman became a MLB reserve bat, rather than playing in the AAA playoffs.  His first MLB appearance came almost a week after the callup.  With the score tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the 9th inning, Joe Maddon picked my player to pinch hit against Roy Oswalt, who was making a relief appearance for the Rangers.  Leading off the frame, he hit a breaking ball that ended up traveling over the fence.

Take a look:

The full sequence:
1) With Roy Oswalt pitching in relief, Percell hit a ground rule double to left.
2) Rookie catcher Stephen Vogt flied out to center, advancing Percell to third.
3) Ben Zobrist hit a walkoff sacrifice fly to left, scoring Percell.
4) Fistpump.

At the end of the regular season, the Rays ended up tied with the Angels for the AL Wild Card.  In game 163, my player started at 1B and hit two home runs, as the Rays routed the Angels and advanced to the playoffs.

(The RTTS mode of MLB 12 The Show is old school and only has one wild card in each league.)

Unfortunately, since my player was not on the MLB roster on August 31, he was automatically ineligible to appear in the playoffs.  He sat by and watched the postseason action, which featured the two franchises for which he had played:

So real, it's unreal.  That sounds about right.