One of the top news stories on the Indianola Independent Advocate’s website on April 9 was about local kid Duncan Davitt reaching the big leagues. The author?
Duncan Davitt.
Davitt, a right-handed pitcher who played high school baseball at Indianola and college baseball at Iowa, was promoted to the major leagues by the Chicago White Sox.
“It’s a whirlwind,” Davitt said in a phone interview with The Des Moines Register on April 10. “You’ve got a lot of new things to get used to. It’s a lot bigger stage.”
The 26-year-old was pitching for Triple-A Charlotte, where he had gone 0-1 with a 7.88 ERA in two starts with 11 strikeouts across eight innings of work.
This is Davitt’s MLB promotion. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 18th round of the 2022 draft and then traded to the White Sox who put him on the 40-man roster during the offseason.
Playing baseball isn’t the only job for Davitt. Davitt spends his offseasons working for the Indianola Independent Advocate covering high school sports. His parents own and operate the local paper.
Davitt frequently writes about his experiences in professional baseball, and Thursday’s headline shared the news with readers.
“I felt kind of silly doing it if I’m being honest,” Davitt said. “It was definitely surreal because obviously a lot of emotions go into that kind of thing. So, it was an interesting experience getting to write something like that.”
While Davitt had an exclusive on the story, he said he waited until the team announced the move until he gave his mom permission to post his piece.
Davitt learned early in the week when Charlotte manager Chad Pinder approached him when the pitcher was in one of the team’s hot tubs getting ready for a start the following day.
When Davitt was summoned to Pinder’s office, the minor-league manager broke the news to him.
“He asked me how I was feeling and I said I was feeling good and he told me I wasn’t going to be making my start in Charlotte the next day and that I’d be available out of the bullpen in the big leagues,” Davitt said.
Davitt was in uniform and in the White Sox’s bullpen during the team’s April 9 game in Kansas City, Mo., against the Royals. It was a fitting first stop for him. Davitt said he often made the drive with his family to attend Royals games as a kid.
Plenty of others made the same commute after learning about Davitt’s callup. He said his mom, dad, sister and wife were at the game along with tons of other family and friends. While Davitt didn’t get in his first game as a big leaguer, he’s hoping he won’t have to wait too long.
“It was kind of a little bit of a full circle (moment) but it was nice to come to a place where a lot of family could make it to the first one,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Indianola High alum Duncan Davitt promoted to Major League Baseball
Reporting by Tommy Birch, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
