Former Missoula Paddlehead Zach Penrod Discusses His MLB Debut

Former Missoula Paddlehead and current Boston Red Sox pitcher Zach Penrod called into The Daily Drive With Ace Sauerwein this week for an episode that will air on Wednesday, October 23. Penrod was called up by the Boston Red Sox less than a year after Boston's organization signed him.

In our interview, Penrod discussed:

What it was like receiving the call to the Bigs
His first outing VS the New York Yankees
Pitching at Fenway Park
How he remembers his time in Missoula

Zach Penrod gets the call from Boston

It was the final month of the regular season and Penrod didn't think he'd receive the call after September call-ups came and went, but on the night of September 13, the Red Sox dialed him up.

"I got a call from a number I didn't recognize, kind of just ignored it. Then I got a call from the pitching coach and I was like 'Well, it's 10:30 at night, like I don't know who would be calling me right now or why they would be calling me right now," said Penrod. "I looked at my wife and said 'This could be something."

Something, indeed. Penrod said it was a wild night calling all his family and preparing to make his debut, hopefully, the next day.

Before you know it, Penrod drove from Worcester, Massachusetts to Boston to fly out to New York to make his first appearance at Yankee Stadium.

Penrod's first outing: Yankee Stadium

There isn't a better rivalry in baseball than the Red Sox and the Yankees. Penrod reflected on the first appearance of his Big League career.

"We brought in our long relief pitcher and everyone was telling me 'Yeah, go ahead and sit down. He's got this.' Then they called down the next minute and they were like 'Hey, Penrod you're going in," said Penrod.

How about this for a debut: You're brought into Yankee Stadium after one of the best hitters reaches base and you lock eyes with him.

"I remember coming in, and I was towing the rubber, kind of turned around and I made eye contact with Aaron Judge. And I was just like, I had one of those moments I feel like I'm playing a video game right now," explained Penrod.

In his debut, Penrod faced four batters:

Austin Wells struck out
Jazz Chisolm Jr. (Former Missoula Osprey, who coincidentally shared the same host family as Penrod) struck out
Jasson Dominguez walked
Anthony Rizzo popped out

Pitching at Fenway Park

Fenway is as legendary as it gets in American sports. For Zach, it was a little extra special thanks to his older brother debuting at Boston's stadium.

"Pitching at Fenway, it was incredible because one of the things that's kind of cool is my older brother grew up a huge Red Sox fan," said Penrod.

Doubt creeps in...

Zach loved his time pitching in the Pioneer Baseball League, both in Boise and Missoula, but it was nearing an expiration date. He had doubts and thoughts of hanging it up.

"Because I just don't think that I can, really in good conscience, I was starting a family, keep this going. I always tell people my wife put me through Indy Ball," Penrod laughed about it. "I'm going to have to start looking [for other work], so yeah at the very beginning of the year in Missoula, it was an all-or-nothing type deal."

It's a good thing Penrod stuck with it because he made it to the Bigs. Penrod made 7 appearances out of the pen, giving up only one run.