LOS ANGELES -- Rob Segedin was convinced a day like Sunday would never happen, so he was ready to give up on the dream. Then those around him intervened.
When Segedin wanted to quit baseball last year, his wife Robin was the first to talk him out of it. When he thought the New York Yankees no longer had his best interest in mind, after seven years in the minor leagues, his family members convinced him to believe.
Segedin said it did not take long to realize he owed those close to him a debt of gratitude, with the moment of realization coming right around the time he hit a two-run double in the fourth inning Sunday of his second career at-bat. He followed that with a two-run single an inning later.
The four RBIs were the most from a Los Angeles Dodgers player in his major league debut and helped the club to an 8-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox that pulled them within a game of the National League West-leading San Francisco Giants. It was the second time in nine days the Dodgers have pulled to within a game of the Giants.
And Segedin had the feel-good story of the day that even overshadowed Adrian Gonzalez's 300th career home run, an insurance blast hit in the seventh inning that padded the Dodgers' lead.
Segedin was out of the game by then, pulled on a double switch, but the damage already had been done.
"It's been a long road and sometimes it has been troubling," Segedin said. "I had an injury history that has kept me out for an extended period of time. Then a lack of opportunities last year. Just to go through the ups and the downs and finally be here and get the rewards of it, that's the surreal part."
Segedin used to visualize playing in the major leagues, but that thought went dark last year when the Yankees sent him from Triple-A to Double-A at age 26, doing it on his second wedding anniversary no less.
He had a hard time seeing how he was going to finish out the rest of 2015, then ride out 2016 in the Yankees system until he could become a free agent. He asked for a release from the Yankees but didn't get it. And even if he did get a fresh start with a new club, he knew he was going to have to prove himself all over again.
Getting on with the rest of his life seemed to offer a more direct path.
"Thankfully, between my family and my wife, they stuck by my side, supported me and gave me the wisdom and the knowledge to continue to grind it out and see what happens," Segedin said.
What happened was that the Dodgers traded for Segedin in the offseason, giving up a minor league infielder and pitcher to do so. He grabbed the second chance with two hands, hitting two home runs during one Cactus League game this spring and putting up solid numbers in Arizona.
He was assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, but he embraced the challenge in his new organization, hitting 21 home runs with 69 RBIs this season, while he led the Pacific Coast League with a .598 slugging percentage.
The Dodgers called up Segedin on Sunday because they needed some production against left-handed pitching, something that has escaped them all season. The return on their speculative venture could not have come quicker as Segedin's four RBIs came off Red Sox lefty David Price.
"To see him drive in a few runs with a couple of big, huge hits, when you imagine a debut in front of 50,000 people, big hits and contributing to a big win, players going crazy for him, it's something that he will always remember," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "He earned that opportunity and took advantage of that today."
It will be interesting to see how the Dodgers use Segedin moving forward. He is more of a third baseman/first baseman, who is only getting his feet wet in the outfield. He had just five games of experience in left field at Oklahoma City this year, before starting in left for the Dodgers on Sunday.
The fact that Roberts double-switched him in the sixth inning of a productive game shows that the Dodgers still have questions about both his defensive ability and lack of experience in the outfield. But if Segedin has shown anything in the last year and a half it is that he can overcome.
Focus isn't an issue either. Segedin not only made his major league debut Sunday, Robin Segedin is 38 weeks pregnant with the couple's first child, and he is also taking college business courses online. Segedin's mind likely has no room for doubt or insecurity.
Robin Segedin even made it to Los Angeles to see her husband's major league debut, the only concern being that the airline wouldn't let her fly this deep into her pregnancy. The couple managed to leap that hurdle as well.
"It was a little scary, but I didn't want her to miss this opportunity because it is as much for her as it is for me," Rob Segedin said.
By all accounts, Rob Segedin is as smart as they come, but in ignoring one simple math problem, he was able to finally see a day like Sunday.
"When you're in those tough times and you're trying to figure out what your next path is, the small percentages that you think you're going to get to this spot is what keeps you going," he said. "Thinking about it is how I was able to stay in it and continue to grind through it."
