Callahan's 1st MLB HR blazes trail for alma mater -- with coach in attendance

PITTSBURGH -- One of Miguel Cabrera’s favorite pieces of baseball gear was a Duquesne baseball T-shirt he received from former Marlins and Tigers teammate Josh Wilson, whose dad, Mike, was the head coach at Duquesne University for 17 seasons. Cabrera wore the T-shirt around the clubhouse for years, and he even got reinforcements from Josh Wilson when his T-shirts wore out.

Duquesne disbanded its baseball program in 2010, when Brett Callahan was 9 years old, so Callahan never got a chance to play in Pittsburgh during his Atlantic 10 Conference travels at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Yet through two games at PNC Park and three games in the big leagues, the Tigers' rookie outfielder is hitting like he feels at home in the ‘Burgh.

Callahan became the first SJU product to homer in the big leagues, according to Baseball Reference. Fittingly, he did it with longtime St. Joseph’s head coach Fritz Hamburg in attendance. They’d met up for breakfast earlier Tuesday after Hamburg and his wife drove in from Philly.

“I had no idea, but that’s really cool,” Callahan said. “There’s more guys coming, though, from St. Joe’s. [Guardians prospect] Ryan Cesarini just won Player of the Week in Double-A [Eastern League]. Luke Gabrysh is in Double-A now, too [with the Mets organization]. And there’s many other guys. It’s been a good program the last few years.”

That wasn’t all of Callahan’s cheering section.

“I had my middle school baseball coach and my history and math teacher here,” Callahan said. “So that was pretty cool to see him, too.”

“Clearly, we like the swing,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s confident in his swing. I love what he’s saying in the dugout and around our hitting coaches, really adjusting to this level like he belongs. And that’s because he does. The early success, I think, settles down any young player.”

After slugging a two-run triple on his first Major League pitch on Sunday at Comerica Park, then a two-run single on Monday against the Pirates, Callahan finally got a chance to show off his power. Braxton Ashcraft had allowed just two singles and induced seven groundouts when Callahan stepped to the plate with two outs in the fifth inning. But when Ashcraft challenged him with a 97.8 mph fastball over the plate, Callahan crushed it.

“I know the first few games up here I'm going to be getting a lot of fastballs in the zone,” said Callahan, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Tigers' No. 19 prospect. “He went curveball first pitch and I didn't even think about swinging at it, and then I was just kind of trying to clear out a fastball. I got the perfect pitch. It worked out pretty well.”

The resulting 110.3 mph drive landed midway up the right-field stands, a 393-foot shot for his first Major League homer. It was one of the few Tigers highlights in a 4-1 loss that turned on an Oneil Cruz two-run homer in the fifth inning off Keider Montero. But it was also an amazing moment in its own right for a player who continues to prove himself in a breakout season that began up I-79 at Double-A Erie.

“It was a good one, because I knew it was gone right off the bat,” Callahan said of his homer. “It felt pretty good. I kind of flew by Max [Clark on deck] a little bit on the way home. I wasn’t thinking. ...

“It was a mob [in the dugout]. It was a team celebration, seeds on my head. It was really awesome.”

Callahan added an infield single in the eighth inning, when his chopper took Ashcraft to the third-base side of the mound and forced a wide throw to first. Callahan darted down the line with a near-elite sprint speed of 29.4 feet per second.

Callahan is the seventh Tiger in history to begin his MLB career with three consecutive games with a hit and an RBI, and the second this season, joining teammate Eduardo Valencia. After arriving from Triple-A Toledo last weekend as an injury replacement for Riley Greene, Callahan has shown no signs of pressure.

“I think all things considered, I've been able to be pretty relaxed in the box, which is great,” Callahan said. “It's the same game. Let my body take over, let the reps take over. And then [knowing] they're going to challenge me, see what I can do, I've been getting a lot of pitches in the zone.”