SHANNON DRAYER

Rookie Dan Altavilla has ‘dream come true’ in strong Mariners debut

Aug 28, 2016, 10:53 AM | Updated: 11:28 am

CHICAGO — The lone bright spot in the Mariners 9-3 loss to the White Sox Saturday night was the big-league debut of reliever Dan Altavilla, a surprise call-up that afternoon. Altavilla, who had expected to be in Biloxi, Mississippi that night with the Jackson Generals, instead was told to take his packed suitcase to Chicago because he was joining the big club.

“I wasn’t thinking about making the jump from Double-A to the bigs,” Altavilla said Sunday morning. “It was a dream come true.”

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Although Saturday was a whirlwind, the 23-year-old Altavilla relished in the experience of his first hours in the Majors. He took a moment when he first walked out on the field at US Cellular Field before warmups.

“I just did a 360 and tried to think of all the fans that would be in the seats,” he said. “It was unbelievable.”

Carrying the pink rookie backpack out to the bullpen was an experience he embraced, as was the time spent in the pen with his new teammates early in the game.

“It was a great time,” he said. “The fans out there, they keep you in the game. Make sure you are staying locked in or they get on you. It was a fun time.”

Around the sixth inning, the righty said he had an idea that he could be getting into the game as bullpen coach Mike Hampton told him to stay locked into the game. Sure enough, he got the call. A number of firsts awaited him on the field in the 8th inning. The fans that he had envisioned in the seats hours ago were now there.

“I threw my last warmup pitch and I just kind of looked around the whole stadium, took it in,” he said. “Seager was good at throwing the ball back and saying, ‘Hey man, go get ’em. Have some fun.’ That kind of just put me in a good mood and made me have a good experience.”

Altavilla faced the heart of the White Sox order. With the lopsided score, this was not a high-leverage situation but Altavilla knew his first impression was important. He breezed through his first batters, Melky Cabrera and Jose Abreu. Just one batter away from making a perfect debut, he focused on his catcher Chris Iannetta.

“We talked a little bit before about what I like to do (during batting practice) and in the clubhouse,” Altavilla said. “He had a good idea of what I wanted to do. He’s been great back there for many years; I trusted everything he put down. On the last pitch to Frazier, he put his fist up and said, ‘Come on, let’s go get this guy!’ It was an awesome experience.”

It was over in a flash. Three up, three down. Altavilla flashed a 100-mph fastball, which may have been supplemented by a little adrenaline, and a nasty slider. A good first outing, with hopefully more to follow. While the call-up may have been a surprise, Altavilla felt well prepared for the experience.

“I want to be able to come in the game, throw strikes and command the zone,” he said. “Our organization is big on C the Z [command the zone]; that’s what I have been trying to do in the minor leagues and I want to take that to the big leagues.”

We saw that Saturday, as did a number of Altavilla’s family members who were able to make the trip to see his debut. Altavilla is keeping the lineup card that was given to him by manager Scott Servais, the ball from his first strikeout and a couple of tickets as reminders of his first outing, although it is hard to imagine he could ever forget his first day on the job.

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