Longtime minor leaguer returns to MLB an historic 13 seasons after last appearance
Back in 2008, Scott Kazmar Jr., then a 23-year-old middle infielder, played 19 games in the big leagues for the San Diego Padres. Flash forward to Saturday, nearly 13 years later, and he's getting another shot in the show.
Kazmar never made it back up to a Major League roster after his cup of coffee all those years ago, but the 36-year-old just got the call from the Atlanta Braves. If and when he gets into a game, he'll have had the longest break between MLB appearances since 1950, surpassing legends like Satchel Paige and Minnie Miñoso, who were called out of retirement for very brief stints in their 50s.
If Sean Kazmar Jr. plays for the Braves today (again, @JeffPassan 1st reported he's being called up), it'll be 12 yrs, 206 days since his last MLB game.
Per @EliasSports, that'd be the longest stretch between MLB games since 1950, beating out Minnie Minoso & Satchel Paige.
— Andrew Simon (@AndrewSimonMLB) April 17, 2021
Kazmar, though, wasn't retired. He was grinding it out in the Minor Leagues, most recently for Atlanta's AAA team, the Gwinnett Braves.
Absurd paragraph from Sean Kazmar's wiki page pic.twitter.com/2IuojTeqgE
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) April 17, 2021
The reason for Kazmar's perseverance is reportedly because he wanted his kids to see him play in the majors. They got the chance; Kazmar pinch hit in the 5th inning during the Braves' matchup with the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.
This story has been updated to show reflect Kazmar's appearance.