Peabody's Jack and Chris Antonelli were glad to hear from their son on the West Coast over the weekend.
It seemed like a typical social call. Matt Antonelli didn't let on to his parents that he was being called up by the San Diego Padres for last night's game against the Dodgers.
He just kept the news to himself for a little while.
"Matt didn't mention anything (about the promotion to the major leagues) for the first 15-20 minutes," Jack Antonelli said last night en route to his son's debut at Dodger Stadium. "When he finally told me, I thought he was kidding. But then I remembered that Matt doesn't kid about stuff like that."
Antonelli, 23, who was a three-sport standout at St. John's Prep before moving on to Wake Forest, was officially called up from the Triple-A Portland Beavers and was penciled in by Padres manager Bud Black to hit in the No. 8 slot and play second base last night.
"I'm excited," Antonelli told the San Diego Union-Tribune after a 5-2 loss to the Dodgers. "This is where I was trying to get to. I had some bad mechanics (this season), a lot of bad mechanics that I tried to break, and I made some strides and hopefully it will get better."
It's highly unlikely that Antonelli will ever forget his first game with the Padres, but making it even more special was that he faced Dodgers right-hander Greg Maddux, a future Hall of Famer who has won 353 games in his illustrious career. Ironically, Maddux pitched for the Padres this season before he was dealt to the Dodgers.
Antonelli went 1 for 4, singling up the middle in his first major league at bat.
"I couldn't be more proud or happy for Matt," Chris Antonelli, Matt's mother, said last night before she and her husband arrived at Dodger Stadium. "It really couldn't happen to a better kid. This has been his dream since he was 8-years-old. Matt has worked so hard to get this far and we're just here to enjoy it with him."
Antonelli, who was the Padres' first round draft choice (No. 17 overall) in 2006, had a strange 2008 season with the Portland Beavers. In stark contrast to the 2007 season, when he batted .307 and belted 21 homers while playing for two different teams in the San Diego organization, Antonelli struggled in Triple-A ball, dropping off to .215 with just seven homers.
However, the Padres must have liked what they saw from Antonelli in the past month, when he lifted his average from the .190s to .215. Also, Antonelli displayed his usual patience at the plate, drawing 76 walks.
There appears to be no doubt that the Padres still have big plans for Antonelli at second base. The team released its regular second baseman, Tadahito Iguchi, yesterday and is planning on moving Antonelli ahead of Edgar Gonzalez, a rookie utility player who has made 53 starts at second base.
Padres officials have been impressed with Antonelli despite his low batting average this season.
"He still had a good approach at the plate and played good defense," Grady Fuson, San Diego's farm system overseer, said on the San Diego Union Tribune Web site.
Antonelli had a respectable .335 on base percentage this season.
"I would imagine Antonelli is going to get a lot of playing time," said Padres General Manager Kevin Towers on the San Diego Union Tribune Web site. "That doesn't mean Edgar (Gonzalez) won't play, but we're bringing Matt up to play."
The timing couldn't be better for Antonelli and the other prospects called up by the Padres, including pitcher Wade LeBlanc. San Diego is dead last in the National League West with a 53-83 record and the team hasn't been able to generate much offense.
"I'm excited to see these young guys," Towers said, referring to Antonelli and LeBlanc. "I think this month will be valuable for them. It gives us a chance to see them, but it's more for them. Both of these guys have a chance to be everyday players for us."
Meanwhile, Antonelli's parents were still running on adrenaline last night after taking a 5:30 a.m. flight from Boston's Logan Airport.
"We're more excited for Matt than anything else," said Jack Antonelli. "The best part for him is that he didn't have a great year offensively and they still called him up. He'll get his feet wet for the next month.
"As a father, yes, I'm proud. But Matt has always been a hard worker and we're so glad he's getting the opportunity to play the game he loves."
