SAN DIEGO -- Maybe it¡¯s for the best that Kyle Hart didn¡¯t earn his first big league win until Monday night.
No, technically Hart was not making his Major League debut in the Padres¡¯ 7-2 win over the Guardians at Petco Park. The 32-year-old left-hander had made four appearances for the Red Sox in 2020.
But, well, that was 2020. The sport looked different then, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. So while Hart had pitched in the big leagues, he hadn¡¯t pitched in a true big league environment.
Or, put another way, Roger Hart had never seen his son pitch a Major League game.
Until Monday.
¡°We couldn¡¯t even be there [for Kyle¡¯s debut],¡± Roger said, speaking outside of the Padres¡¯ clubhouse on Monday night, ¡°because there was nobody in the stands. This was our first chance to see him pitch at the Major League Baseball level.
¡°That was a good feeling to be able to be here for that -- just to be a part of it.¡±
In his first start as a Padre, Kyle Hart worked five solid innings against the Guardians. He allowed two runs on five hits while striking out four, as San Diego improved to 5-0 for the first time in franchise history.
¡°I¡¯ve waited a long time,¡± Kyle said afterward, ¡°for that beer shower right there.¡±
When he took the mound on Monday, Hart might have become the last player to exit a unique club.
Prior to that start, there were 24 players who debuted in 2020 but didn¡¯t appear in another game after that season. That group -- dubbed ¡°the Lost Boys¡± in a post on Reddit -- is down to 23.
¡°I mean, it¡¯s been five years,¡± Hart said. ¡°You hear guys, maybe it¡¯s been two years, three years since they¡¯ve been in the big leagues. But at five years, it¡¯s almost like, ¡®OK, those guys are gone.' I¡¯ll give myself credit, I¡¯ve worked really hard and had some success. But there were so many good people around me.¡±
Hart¡¯s first stint in the big leagues was short-lived, even by 2020 standards. He made four appearances for the Red Sox, allowing 19 earned runs in 11 innings. He later joked he was embarrassed to tell people he was once a big leaguer, because they¡¯d likely check his statistics next.
Hart spent the next three seasons toiling in the Minors before he made the decision to pitch in Korea in ¡¯24. It was there that Hart revitalized his career.
He made a few changes -- adding a sweeper and slightly lowering his arm slot. But he said the biggest improvements simply came because he was allowed to start on a consistent basis. Given that opportunity, Hart went 13-3 with a 2.69 ERA for the NC Dinos. He took home the Choi Dong-won Award, the KBO¡¯s version of the Cy Young.
¡°I just wanted to pitch the best that I could,¡± Hart said earlier this spring. ¡°And whatever opportunities arose beyond that, I was going to be happy with.¡±
As it turned out, the next opportunity was a big league contract with the Padres. Hun Namgung, the organization¡¯s Korea-based scout, pushed for the team to sign Hart after watching him pitch last year.
The Padres were intrigued by Hart¡¯s profile -- a lefty with an interesting pitch mix and arm slot. Shortly before Spring Training began, they arranged a meeting on Zoom. All parties involved said the fit was immediately clear. Hart signed shortly thereafter.
¡°Once I got here, it was like, ¡®This is the spot for me,¡¯¡± Hart said.
Hart won the Padres¡¯ final rotation spot in Spring Training. His reward? He started the opener of a three-game series against the Guardians before 43,404 at Petco Park.
A stark contrast to the last time he took a big league mound -- two innings of relief on Sept. 1, 2020, before an empty Fenway Park.
¡°This would probably be better than anything I imagined,¡± Hart said. ¡°Especially at Petco. And against Cleveland. ¡ I¡¯m not the biggest Cleveland sports fan. Any time you can beat Cleveland is good -- as a Cincinnatian.¡±
Indeed, it was early Friday morning that the Hart family boarded a plane from their native Cincinnati, finally able to watch Kyle pitch in a big league game.
¡°We¡¯ve been to literally hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands, of his games,¡± Roger Hart said. ¡°We¡¯ve seen him get a lot of wins. But it¡¯s obviously a feather in your cap when you get your first MLB win.
¡°It¡¯s so awesome to be here for that.¡±