Braves Call Up Feel Good Story of the Year Sean Kazmar Jr.

While the 2021 MLB season has played host to some amazing feats to begin the year, including two no-hitters and Yermin Mercedes’ historic start, the Braves just announced possibly the most astounding of them all. Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Atlanta has selected the contract of 36-year-old infielder Sean Kazmar Jr. While Kazmar’s call up to the major league roster may seem on the surface to be a mere depth move in light of the recent injury to superstar second baseman Ozzie Albies, it is in fact so much more than an ordinary roster transaction.

A 2004 fifth-round pick out of the College of Southern Nevada by the Padres, Kazmar made a relatively timely ascent through the minor league ladder, debuting in the major leagues four years later at the age of 24. He would go on to appear in 19 big league contests in the 2008 season, collecting eight hits, including a double, over 46 total plate appearances. Despite receiving a seemingly normal cup of coffee at the time, Kazmar would end up toiling in Triple-A for over 12 years before being given another major league opportunity, this time in 2021 with the Braves.

While not experiencing the longest stretch between major league appearances ever; that would belong to Paul Schreiber, who waited 22 years and two days between 1923 and 1945; Kazmar is still in line to have an unbelievable gap of 12 years, six months and 25 days between seeing big league action if he plays in today’s game. A truly incredible story, Sean Kazmar Jr. exemplifies all that is wondrous about baseball. Children have grown up, three presidents have been elected, a pandemic has swept the globe, and Sean Kazmar Jr. still wakes up every single day hoping to get one more shot at the greatest game of them all.