Up Next

What Had Happened Was

What Had Happened Was: 4/28/17

Oh, you didn’t know? We got you.

Up Next From Sports

    Chicago Cubs v Pittsburgh Pirates
    Gift Ngoepe #61 of the Pittsburgh Pirates records his first major league single in the fourth inning against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park on April 26, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
    Rhiannon Walker By @InstantRHIplay

    GAME. BLOUSES.

    For the first time in MLB history, a player born in Africa suited up for a major league team. Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Gift Ngoepe was called up from the team’s Class AAA team in Indianapolis on Wednesday. His arrival comes 70 years after Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play in the majors.

    Coming into Wednesday’s game, Pittsburgh was tied for the most errors (19) in the league, and the Pietersburg, South Africa, native is viewed as the team’s best defensive prospect.

    Ngoepe, 27, played high school baseball in Johannesburg’s suburbs and signed with Pittsburgh nine years ago. He was batting .241 in Triple-A, and in his first at-bat against Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lester he singled down the middle of the field. The Pirates’ 6-5 victory was the lone win in the team’s three-game series against its National League Central rival.

    “It’s a dream come true for me because it’s been my dream since I was a 10-year-old boy, but it also means so much to the people of South Africa and baseball in Africa,” Ngoepe told The New York Times before the Pirates’ game against the Chicago Cubs. “I’ve gotten plenty from people back home who are so excited.” He noted that baseball in Africa was “still very much in the development stages” and said he hoped that an African reaching the major leagues would spur more interest.

    BLESSINGS

    SOCIAL STATUS

    FOR THE CULTURE

    African-American women organizing shooting classes are finding a surge of interest — and many say it comes down to feeling less safe.

    Darlene Mullins, grandmother of four, to get degree from Tennessee State University after 55 years.

    How a pair of sunglasses signifies wealth, status, crime and death in Detroit.

    Six-year-old Vanae James-Bey has created a coloring book series to teach children about black indigenous cultures around the world.

    Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me is getting a stage adaptation at the Apollo Theater.

    TOP THREE TWEETS

    1. I’VE GOT A COMPLICATED ORDER

    https://twitter.com/animalfriespls/status/857425061590048773

    2. AS TOLD BY INTROVERTS

    https://twitter.com/T0000MUCH/status/857070967415287808

    3. I’M BACK AND I’M BETTER

    ICYMI

    PICTURE-PERFECT

    Rhiannon Walker is an associate editor at The Undefeated. She is a drinker of Sassy Cow Creamery chocolate milk, an owner of an extensive Disney VHS collection, and she might have a heart attack if Frank Ocean doesn't drop his second album.

    This Story Tagged: Chicago Cubs Pittsburgh Pirates Gift Ngoepe MLB What Had Happened Was