A Moment to Nava Forget

Daniel Nava will never forget this day for as long as he lives.

On the very first pitch he saw in the major leagues, Nava hit a grand slam homerun.

He then got a curtain call in Fenway Park.

Nava's homerun gave the Red Sox a 5-2 lead in the 2nd inning en route to a 10-2 walloping of the Philadelphia Phillies.

He becomes only the fourth player in major league history to hit a grand slam in his first plate appearance. Only he and Kevin Kouzmanoff (then of the Cleveland Indians) did it on the first pitch. Ironically, Nava was called up after outfielder Jeremy Hermida was placed on the DL. Hermida also hit a grand slam in his MLB debut with the Florida Marlins in 2005.

Not bad for a kid who only found before midnight he was being called up to the major leagues.

Also not bad for someone who was cut from his college team, not drafted and released in the independent leagues. Unlike Stephen Strasburg, there was no great anticipation of his major league debut maybe except from his parents who flew in from California to see his first game.

Yet he and Stephen Strasburg are in the baseball history books just the same.

As Ronald Reagan might say, "Not bad. Not bad at all."