Austin Meadows came to hit. He arrived in Pittsburgh in the early hours Friday morning armed with simple directions from his father, Kenny: “Be aggressive. Swing early.” Meadows had waited five years for his Pirates debut. Why wait any longer for his first major league hit?
One other bit of advice …
“Relax,” Kenny told his son. “You’ve done this your whole life.”
The plan played. Meadows, batting seventh and starting in center field, stroked two singles and flied out twice to deep center field in the Pirates’ 3-2 loss Friday night against the San Diego Padres at PNC Park.