MIAMI — Many rookies make their big league debuts in relative anonymity. Gift Ngoepe, however, caused a stir throughout MLB and halfway around the world when the Pirates called him up.
On Wednesday, Ngoepe became the first African-born major leaguer when he entered the game against the Chicago Cubs as a defensive replacement. On Friday, Ngoepe made his first career start against the Miami Marlins.
“I have to calm myself as much as possible,” Ngoepe said. “Just breathe and make sure my heart is not beating a thousand beats per minute. Just go out there and do my thing.”
In a span of about 48 hours, the Pirates received interview requests from more than a dozen media outlets, most of them outside of the United States.
SportsCenter Africa, which made its debut March 8, wanted to talk with him. A reporter in South Africa asked for a Skype interview. Another African outlet asked the Pirates to provide daily “match reports” while Ngoepe is with the team.
“I've done quite a few (interviews),” Ngoepe said with a laugh. “I knew when I signed my contract, that being the first one from a country (South Africa) and a whole continent, that all this publicity was going to happen. It mustn't change me. I must be the same person that I am. That's my theme: Be who you are.”
Planet of the aches
David Freese said his right hamstring discomfort was “still there a little bit” when he hit in the indoor cage Friday afternoon. The training staff was still evaluating to determine if Freese should go on the 10-day disabled list.
When someone pointed out Freese was listed on the lineup card posted in the clubhouse, he smiled.
“My name is on there, so to the Marlins, I'm available,” Freese said. “We'll know more later.”
Freese strained his hamstring during Monday's game against the Chicago Cubs. After lining a first-inning single, Freese missed first base and made an awkward move back to the bag.
“I planted (my foot), stopped and tried to get back and tweaked it a little bit,” he said.
Adam Frazier (left hamstring), who went on the DL on Monday, has not yet resumed any activity.
Paying the bills
The Pirates often are tardy when paying their bills, according to a report released by Creditsafe, an Allentown-based provider of business credit data.
The report claims the Pirates typically take 31 days beyond the agreed payment terms to pay suppliers. They're listed as the second-slowest club in the majors behind the Los Angeles Angels (52 days beyond terms).
“Days beyond terms … is often cited as the most predictive data item when assessing a company's ability to stay in business,” Matthew Debbage, CEO of Creditsafe USA and Asia, said. “Our analysis revealed most of the MLB teams pay their suppliers within terms. We also discovered stragglers, including the Pittsburgh Pirates.”
Creditsafe said it based its evaluation the figures from the first quarter of 2017.
“The Pirates pay appropriately submitted bills in a timely manner and have great relationships with our vendors,” team spokesman Brian Warecki said via an email. “We have no comment on a marketing paper prepared by a credit agency based in Allentown that opines on the ‘creditworthiness' of 30 major league clubs based on the purported time that each club took to pay its invoices in one quarter of one year.”
Minor matters
Going into Friday's game, Triple-A Indianapolis outfielder Austin Meadows had reached base in 13 straight games. In that stretch, he raised his batting average from .048 to .221 and boosted his on-base percentage from .150 to .280.
Right-handed reliever Luis Heredia and catcher Jackson Williams were assigned to Double-A Altoona.
This is the first time Heredia has played above Class A. He was an intriguing prospect — a 16-year-old with a 92 mph fastball — when the Pirates signed him in 2010 for $2.6 million, but he has never gained much traction due to poor conditioning and ineffectiveness. The Pirates have given up on developing Heredia, 22, as a starter. Last year, he had an up-and-down season as the closer for High-A Bradenton. He will be a free agent after this season.
To clear spots at Altoona, catcher Zane Chavez was demoted to short-season Granville, W.Va., and pitcher John Kuchno, an 18th-round pick out of Ohio State in 2012, was released.
Rob Biertempfel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at rbiertempfel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BiertempfelTrib.
