Bulls’ Kiermaier in Final Rays’ Game

Kevin Kiermaier, 9th Inning, Rays v Rangers, Sep 30, 2013
Thanks to Rays Index for GIF

Bottom of the 9th, Rays ahead of the Rangers 5-2. The Rays’ Sam Fuld had come in to play center field in place of Desmond Jennings a bit earlier. Fuld had just scored that 5th run with some aggressive baserunning in the top of the 9th. With no dramatic music at all we get a camera shot of Kevin Kiermaier out in center field and see that Fuld in now in right field. So it’s Kiermaier for Wil Myers. Kiermaier to center, Fuld to right, and our guy is in the game. Smart (in our opinion) move. Help out on defense on the year’s crucial game. Win this one and go into the post-season.

This is a Moonlight Graham moment and Kiermaier’s official stat page is spookily similar to one from 1905 for North Carolina's Archibald Graham. That’s going to change, of course, but for now we could not be happier for the young man who helped the Bulls into the Governors’ Cup. Over in Montgomery, where he accumulated a bunch of awards this year, they are happy too. Box score.

Ordinarily at this point we’d provide a link to the Tampa Bay Times (née the St. Petersburg Times), but we won’t be doing that any more. They have just taken their Rays’ coverage behind a paywall and we don’t think we should link to for-pay coverage.

I have no idea how creative the Rays' had to be with their roster to get Kiermaier into the game. At a guess, they probably gave up on a rehabber and put him on the DL. But now I think that the Rays’ have to go back to a 25-man roster. My guess is that Kiermaier might not stay with the team. We’ll see. But by coming in the game yesterday it means that he’s on the Rays’ 40-man and that could last all the way into 2014 for him. Great!

Update: Pre-game comments from Kiermaier after his call-up.