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Pittsburgh Pirates to call up Gift Ngoepe, first MLB player born in Africa

By Joshua Sadlock

Mar 7, 2016; Bradenton, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Gift Ngoepe (61) gets ready for the pitch during the ninth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at McKechnie Field. The Phillies won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2016; Bradenton, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Gift Ngoepe (61) gets ready for the pitch during the ninth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at McKechnie Field. The Phillies won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Pittsburgh Pirates are set to call up Gift Ngoepe, the first African-born player in MLB history.

In a historic move for an MLB team, infielder Gift Ngoepe will be called up by the Pirates. Hailing from Pietersburg, South Africa, he became the first black South African to ever play baseball professionally — at any level. Now, he will become the first player of any race born on the African continent to play in MLB.

The Pirates have been one of the more aggressive teams in signing players from underscouted nations around the world. They made history by signing two Indian pitchers in 2008 — Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel. That story would become the Disney movie Million Dollar Arm. Neither pitched in the big leagues.

Ngoepe signed with the Pirates in 2008, and made his debut in the United States at the age of 19. In parts of nine seasons in the minor leagues, he has batted .232/.322/.347 with 88 stolen bases. Though he’s not known for his work with the bat, Ngoepe is a solid fielder at shortstop. He dropped switch hitting last year to bat only from the right side, and struggled with the adjustment. His hitting approach is coming along to the point where the Pirates viewed him as a viable option for their bench.

“It was a huge adjustment, and seeing those sliders and breaking balls that they threw me took my confidence away, and it took me away from my strength of hitting the fastball,” Ngoepe said. “I had a lot of mind games and mental breakdowns.”

“The less I fought myself, the better off I was,” Ngoepe said. “As soon as I threw in the white flag and said, ‘Gift, you beat up yourself, so many times,’ … my whole body just relaxed and I was able to be who I am.”

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The Pirates are off to a slow start this season, and have had to deal with the distraction of a Starling Marte suspension for PEDs and Jung Ho Kang’s uncertain legal future in South Korea. Ngoepe will likely fill in around the infield while David Freese nurses a sore hamstring.

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