The (long) wait is over.
The Baltimore Orioles have called up Matt Wieters, who is batting seventh in tonight's lineup and playing catcher.
"I've dreamed about making my debut ever since I was little," Wieters said. "It's going to be fun, especially once I get to actually play in a game."
To make room for the rookie, the O's designated Chad Moeller for assignment.
Wieters, who has been described as "Joe Mauer with power," says the hype and attention hasn't worn him out already. Teammate Adam Jones joked to "put him in the Hall of Fame."
"No, I am actually pretty excited to get playing tonight," said Wieters. "Having the past two days off to sit back and think about it, it's exciting to get in this clubhouse and get to see some of the guys that I haven't seen since spring training, or even some of the guys you just saw a couple days ago. It's a new team, but it's a bunch of familiar faces."
In his first three at bats, Wieters is 0-for-3 after flying out once and grounding out twice. In other words, as Jones said, "don't make him a Hall of Famer before he is one. Let him play his first game before all that."
