Brewers 31-year-old rookie gets first big-league hit after 10 years in minors

Nevin Ashley is a very patient man. Four weeks after his 31st birthday and after 10 years in the minor leagues, he made his major-league debut on Wednesday and collected his first hit in style.

After 922 games from the Appalachian rookie league to Triple-A, from the Arizona Fall League to the Dominican Winter League, Ashley pulled on a Milwaukee Brewers uniform and started at catcher against the Marlins, and batted eighth.

After his long wait to make it to The Show, he didn’t waste any time making an impact.

Ashley came to bat in the bottom of the second with a runner on first and two out. Facing righty Tom Koehler, he smacked a 1-1 pitch to the gap in left-centre all the way to the wall that allowed Khris Davis to score and gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead.

Ashley did his best to hold back a smile while standing on second, acting like he’d been there before, but admitted he was popular after the game.

“My phone’s blowing up right now, friends and family,” Ashley said. “I’m just happy to be up here and contribute. I got a pitch to hit. First pitch breaking ball. He had a great breaking ball. He had it working tonight. Missed with the fastball away so I was ready for the fastball and he left it out over the plate. I didn’t miss it.”

Ashley finished his night 1-for-2 with an RBI and was hit by a pitch. He was a sixth round pick of the Rays in 2006 and spent eight seasons in the organization. He spent 2013 with the Reds Triple-A team and 2014 with the Pirates before landing with the Brewers.

The Brewers ended up falling to the Marlins 5-2 on Wednesday, but in a season full of losses Ashley’s feel-good story feels like a minor win.

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Ian Denomme is an editor and writer for Yahoo Sports. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter.