Wynton Bernard of the Colorado Rockies made his impressive debut in the major league on Friday night, a decade after he played in the minor leagues.
In his 10th season, after having played in foreign leagues, including Constellation Energy League as part of his independent league resume, Bernard finally made his MLB debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks and helped the Rockies win by 3-5.
Bernard excited the crowd when he stepped to the plate for the first time in the bottom of the third inning. Although he was grounded out to second, the crowd only cheered for him more.
“I never had anything like that,” Bernard said. “That was incredible.”
He legged out a Rockies infielder after Sam Hilliard started the inning with a double from Diamondbacks’ pitcher Chris Devenski. Bernard managed to steal a second, went to third base on Charlie Blackmon’s RBI single and scored while sacrificing his own run.
“I want to do everything I can to help the team win. So in a big situation like that, to come through for the team, it was huge,” Bernard said.
After the match, Bernard was promoted into the starting lineup before the match in Albuquerque on Thursday. He shared the news with his mother, saying that she had a huge part in helping him to get where he is now.
“She’s done so much. The way I saw her take care of my dad before he passed away, he was bedridden but she stayed by his side. I said to myself, ‘I know how hard she worked so I’m going to work just as hard — if not harder.’ Just to see her reaction meant a lot,” he added.
Bernard also cited his late father, Walter, as the motivator for his career.
“Throughout my whole career I’ve played for him,” the 31-year-old said, “and I think of him all the time during games. I just hope he’s looking down on me.”
From minor to major league
Bernard has played in the minor league for more than 10 years with 863 games so far, before having his contract from the Triple-A Albuquerque selected by the Rockies on Friday.
Previously, Bernard has spent one year with the San Diego Padres in 2012 before he was released in January 2014.
In March 2014, he was signed with the Detroit Tigers as a minor league free agent, spending two years playing with them. He eventually went and moved on between the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs, before signing up with the Rockies in 2019. He briefly became a free agent but re-signed with the Rockies in 2021.
At 31 years and 322 days old, Bernard was the second oldest player to debut in the Major League after Joe Delahanty from the St. Louis Cardinals on September 30, 1907, being 31 years and 347 days old.
“I never had the thought of not making it,” he said. “I just tried to focus on the positives, and that’s what kept me through.”
The Rockies manager Bud Black went to see Bernard and outfield Connor Joe. Black asked for batting practice to them and encouraged the Rockies to sign them up.
“I made the recommendation to our front office to see if we can sign these guys,” Black said. “Our front office contacted their agents and they got deals done.”
