The first went to his parents.
“We talked about it, how great it would be to make that call, to tell them I was going to be called, and it was all that and then a little bit,” Bacus said.
Then, as he made the 90-mile journey from the Nationals training site in Baltimore, the inbox on Bacus’s phone filled with text and voice messages.
“I’ve always been lucky to have a lot of support from people at home, really from every step along the way, and I’ve always appreciated that,” Bacus said. “I’ve heard so many people, old friends from high school, teammates, people I’ve known for a long time.”
It was during the journey that Bacus felt nervous, probably more nervous than when he took the mound.
“During the uphill journey, there were a lot of thoughts going through my head, but when I got to the bench I said something I had believed in for a long time,” Bacus said. “He was still 60 feet 6 inches and really, thinking about it helped calm my nerves.”
Staying true to himself gave Bacus a chance to compete.
Working in 225 minor league games in eight seasons since he was drafted in the ninth round in 2012 put Bacus to the test, who had spent most of the season at Triple-A level for the first time a year ago when earned the Pacific Coast League all-star honors when launching for Fresno.
.
