WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It was 516 days since Carter Kieboom last took the field in a major league game before making his Grapefruit League debut Thursday against the Marlins.
That’s 17 long months of waiting through a lockout, gearing up for a shortened spring training, being shut down for the year without appearing in game due to Tommy John surgery and rehabbing for this upcoming season. All of it building up to yesterday’s anticipated return to action.
“Honestly, just happy to be out there again. It's been a long time,” Kieboom said, exhibiting a sense of relief after appearing as the designated hitter in yesterday’s 5-5 tie. “Ultimately, I just wanted to see, today my goal was to see as many pitches as I could. Just get comfortable in there. My first at-bat, I saw a couple of really good pitches to hit, the first two, I thought. But it's just most important for me to see the pitches … the last couple of years, it's been difficult to stick with my approach. And then I had about nine months to 10 months to prepare about sticking with an approach. And that's all today was about, just going up there with a plan and then sticking with it all game long, regardless of your results.”
For how long he had to wait, the results were a bit anticlimactic. In his first plate appearance since Oct. 3, 2021, he was hit in the foot by the fourth pitch he saw. He made it count, however, by coming around to score on Jeimer Candelario’s two-run double.
In his second time at the plate, Kieboom struck out looking at an inside fastball to end a five-pitch at-bat. But he redeemed himself the next time up by drawing a full-count walk and stealing second base. And then, finally, in his fourth appearance, he struck out with a check swing on the fifth pitch with two outs and two runners in scoring position.