On Sunday afternoon Morgantown native Josh Judy made his Major League Baseball debut with the Cleveland Indians. Judy was called up from the Columbus Clippers on Saturday after pitcher Alex White was placed on the 15-day disabled list.
The 6-foot-4 reliever came in during the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday to close out the game. The Indians had a 12-4 lead and Judy pitched a scoreless inning.
"That’s a whole different level of adrenaline out there," Judy said to reporters following Sunday’s game. "My eyes were twitching. My Legs were twitching. But it felt great."
Cincinnati’s Fred Lewis came to the plate to lead off the ninth and Judy struck him out swinging on a 95 mph fast ball. Ramon Hernandez would then single. Paul Janish lined out to center. Drew Stubbs would then double. But with runners at second and third, Judy was able to get Chris Heisey to fly out to end the game to a standing ovation from the crowd of over 34,000 in Cleveland.
"When they stood up for that last out and started chanting and started screaming it was louder than any football game I’ve ever been a part of," Judy said. "It was something special. It was really something special."
The University High graduate becomes the second Morgantown native to make it to the MLB and the first Morgantown Post 2 player to make it to the majors. The other player was pitcher Ray Flanigan, who pitched the final three games for the Indians in the 1946 season.