Every base counts in Slade Heathcott’s mind. So even with the Yankees down 7-0 in the third inning, he was thinking double right out of the box.
So the 24-year-old, a call-up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as a replacement for the injured Jacoby Ellsbury, hustled a single to left-center into a double in his first major league at-bat Friday.
“Every base in this game counts, whether the score is 11-0 or we’re down,” said Heathcott who had two hits, scored a run and reached on catcher’s interference in his first-ever major league start. “Doesn’t matter. Every base counts. Same in the field. You have to stop runners from advancing when you can.”
Heathcott could be making more than a cameo appearance in the Bronx as Ellsbury is not likely to be back as soon as his 15-day stint for a sprained right knee expires. Manager Joe Girardi indicated the injury to Ellsbury, who was re-examined Friday, is not believed serious. But he still is not counting on a rapid return.
“Basically, he’s on the 15-day DL,” Girardi said after the Yankees lost, 10-9, in a home-run happy affair with the Rangers at Yankee Stadium. “Do I think we’ll get him in 15 days? No. Do I think it’ll be a real long DL stint? No. But as I’ve said all along, it’s going to depend how he responds to the treatment and with speed being a big part of his game, we’ll just have to see how he’s doing.”
Heathcott got his chance and made the most of it. With his wife, Jessica, 3-month-old son, Kysen, his parents and other relatives on hand, Heathcott made his dream game a night to remember.
“I got in the game the other day but today is the first day in pinstripes,” Heathcott said, referring to Wednesday in Washington where he was a pinch runner and a defensive sub. “The pinstripes are a cool experience for me. To have the pinstripes on and starting in center field, that’s a dream come true. It’s something I’m going to cherish for a long time.”
Especially after getting the hit.
“I talked about it before the game,” said the lefty hitting and throwing Heathcott, who also made a nice running catch in the seventh. “This game is the same game no matter where you are between the lines. The fans, the crowd the stadium everything is on the outside. And I wanted to focus on staying in between the lines not worrying what’s around. The first AB, that obviously helped me calm down and get the nerves in check and realize this is just another game that I’m playing.”
Yeah, just another game. In pinstripes. In The Bronx — where he got his first roll call from the Bleacher Creatures.
“I wanted to sit there and listen to it a little longer but figured I’d better not,” said Heathcott, the Yankees’ first-round (29th overall) pick in 2009 who has battled off field issues plus multiple shoulder and knee surgeries. “That [roll call] is special, not everybody gets to do that. And that’s a tradition of the Yankees we enjoy as players.”