Walker Jenkins was lying in bed, beside his wife, wide awake staring at the ceiling at 1:30 a.m., his mind racing with anticipation as he tried to go to sleep the night before his major league debut.
When he walked into the Twins’ clubhouse on Saturday before the game, he was entering a room filled with players he knew, from Ryan Jeffers — whom he has trained with for years in the winter in North Carolina — to fellow rookie Kaelen Culpepper — whom he called Thursday night to ask for tips — to the number of guys he either played with in the minor leagues or during spring training.
“We talked a lot about this moment, getting to share a locker room, getting to share the field with him,” Jeffers said. “I think we’re both pretty excited.”
Safe to say Jeffers wasn’t the only one excited for Jenkins’ debut, in which Minnesota’s top prospect went 1 for 3 with a walk. Manager Derek Shelton called Jenkins’ swings “really impressive.” The very first batter on Friday night, Sam Antonacci, hit a ball towards Jenkins, which he said was nice to get out of the way.
When he came to the plate for the first time, he received a massive ovation from the Target Field crowd. He got another after hitting a 380-foot fly out to center field.
“It gave me straight chills,” he said. “Having fans and people that come and support me and support this team like that is incredible. I’m playing baseball, hitting a ball with a stick and you’ve got people that come out like that and support you.”
Jenkins himself had a pretty big cheering section.
He estimated he had around two dozen family members and friends that he invited, and joked that it sounded as if half his town from back home in North Carolina had made the trip. They watched the game from team owner Tom Pohlad’s suite.
“He had no reason to do that and the fact that he was willing to do that for my family and all the friends that came … couldn’t appreciate it more,” Jenkins said.
He spent time posing for pictures and enjoying the moment with his support system after the game on the field, long after others had cleared out of the ballpark. That group got to see his first hit, which came in his second at-bat. In his third plate appearance, he worked a walk and he struck out in his final at-bat of the night. The night, he said, was “incredible.”
“He seemed very calm,” Shelton said. “It did not seem like the moment got too big for him. … He did a really nice job of handling himself.”
What’s in a number?
Growing up, Jenkins wore Nos. 6 and 7 as a young ballplayer. But when it came to picking his number as a Twin, he knew those two options wouldn’t be available to him.
That’s because, of course, Hall of Famers Tony Oliva and Joe Mauer, respectively, donned those numbers during their Twins playing careers and both numbers are retired. Instead, he chose No. 11 in honor of his wife, Lexi, who wore that number herself as a high school soccer player.
Briefly
The Twins will send Zebby Matthews (8-8, 4.86 ERA) to the mound for the series finale against the Chicago White Sox. The game is scheduled to begin at 1:10 p.m. … Austin Martin (hamstring) is going though a running progression. General manager Jeremy Zoll said the earliest he might go out on a rehab assignment would be next weekend.