CLEARWATER, FL – Detroit Tigers minor league outfielder Brett Callahan got notified about 15 hours before the bus left.
He got a text that he was being asked to join the Tigers – the big-league club – on their road trip to play against the Philadelphia Phillies in a split-squad game on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
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Of course, he was excited. Callahan, 24, has never played above High-A West Michigan.
Of course, he called his parents, although he almost didn’t tell them. He wanted to surprise them. He figured they would be watching on TV because they are big-time Phillies fans. Callahan has gone to probably 30 Phillies games in his life.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle bats at live batting practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle bats at live batting practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle practices during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle practices during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle bats at live batting practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle bats at live batting practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle watches live batting practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle bats at practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle practices during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
From left Detroit Tigers infielder Zach McKinstry, infielder Kevin McGonigle and first baseman Spencer Torkelson walk toward the practice field during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle waves at fans on his way to practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle, left, and infielder Colt Keith watch live batting practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle practices during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle practices during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle practices during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle signs autographs for fans after practice at spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers Triple-A hitting coach Mike Hessman, left, talks to infielder Kevin McGonigle at practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle practices during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle runs a drill at practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.
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Kevin McGonigle enjoying his first Detroit Tigers spring training
Detroit Tigers infielder Hao-Yu Lee, left, and infielder Kevin McGonigle practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026.
Callahan grew up in Newark, Delaware, about a 45-mile drive from Philadelphia.
And he played baseball at St. Joseph’s University – a Division 1 school in Philadelphia. The Tigers took him in the 13th round of the 2023 MLB Draft.
So, to get a chance to play with the Tigers?
No, better than that. To play against the Phillies? With all his families and friends and college buddies back home, watching on TV?
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Get real. That’s flat out, incredible. Callahan had been training with the other Tigers minor league players at TigerTown, but the organization uses the call-ups as a way to reward prospects who have talent and are working their butts off behind the scenes. Just the fact that he was asked to go on a road trip tells you what the organization thinks of him.
And then, well, this story became simply magical.
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Ready for the moment
Callahan got into the game in the bottom of the sixth inning and went to left field, replacing Austin Slater. That wasn’t surprising. Callahan can play all three outfield positions.
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Then, in the ninth inning, Callahan came to the plate facing right hander Kyle Brnovich, a 28-year-old who signed a minor league contract with the Phillies.
There were two outs. A 2-1 count. In a game that was all but over.
Members of the Detroit Tigers take batting practice before a spring training game against the Minnesota Twins at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in Lakeland, Florida.
The Phillies had a comfortable 5-2 lead and all of the Tigers starters had already been lifted from the game.
“I figured I’d get in in the outfield and then just lined up for me to be the last batter in the game,” Callahan said.
No, as it turned out, he wasn’t the last batter.
“I got into a hitter’s count, 2-1,” he said. “So I knew a fastball is coming after he threw some offspeed pitches before.”
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He found the fastball, all right, hitting a 405-foot bomb to center for his first spring training home run.
As he rounded the bases, it was like a fairytale moment.
“I was rounding the bases, smiling,” he said, still smiling in the Tigers clubhouse.
“I was just happy that I got an at bat in the game,” he said. “And it’s pretty cool to play here, growing up a Philly sports fan.”
Pretty cool, indeed.
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Callahan felt prepared for this moment because of all the work the young Tigers prospects have done on the back fields at TigerTown.
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“It’s been a good spring,” he said. “Done pretty well. And I think this year we got here earlier than we have in years past. We’ve gotten a lot of live at-bats and it’s gotten us ready for backing up these big league games, for moments like this.”
Injuries have slowed his climb
Callhan’s journey to this moment hasn’t been easy.
He was a three-year college player who was All-Atlantic 10 first-team selection after hitting 11 homers his junior season.
Then, he hit .250 in the Cape Cod Baseball League. So, the Tigers jumped at him, selecting him No. 380 overall.
When he talks about his own game, he sounds like he’s repeating the words of Scott Harris, the Tigers president of baseball operations.
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“I have confidence in my swing,” Callahan said. “When I get in trouble, I’m chasing pitches or being too aggressive. So, I just work on having an approach, like not always trying to pull the ball. Sometimes taking a strike is better than swinging at a pitch when you’re not on time.”
Sound advice.
But his career has been slowed by injuries.
“A dislocated finger and a pulled quad,” he said.
He played 55 games in West Michigan in 2025, hitting nine homers, four triples and eight doubles. Clearly, he has power and speed, even though he’s built like a Mack truck. All muscle.
“I loved West Michigan,” he said. “Last year was great. Obviously, we won the championship.”
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It was a team loaded with talent. There were the huge names, like Kevin McGonigle, Max Clark and Josue Briceño – some of the Tigers’ top prospects. But it had a ton of players who might be unfamiliar to Tigers fans. Talented players in their own right, guys like John Peck and Callahan.
“We had the best record, a lot of talent,” Callahan said. “I just think the Tigers as a whole are such a good organization, so good at development. All of our guys compete.”
And that’s what Callahan did against his hometown team.
Kept competing to the very last out.
And kept smiling around the bases.
Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers’ OF Brett Callahan all smiles after fairytale moment