1st hit? 1st homer! Rincones & his wife both knew 'epic' moment was coming

PHILADELPHIA -- Gabriel Rincones Jr. had pictured this exact moment countless times.

So when the Phillies' No. 6 prospect launched his first career home run in Monday night's 7-0 win over the Marlins, it didn't necessarily feel like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

It somehow felt familiar.

“I daydreamed about that,” Rincones said. “And I tried to think about what it would feel like, what I would see and smell -- and it was very similar."

His wife, Courtney, wasn't all that surprised either.

"I was so excited when he hit it, but honestly I was expecting it," she said from her seat at Citizens Bank Park. "I could just tell looking at him as he walked up there. I was like, ‘If he makes contact, it's gonna be a bomb.'"

Rincones knew it the moment the ball left his bat -- which he casually flipped to the side before breaking into what the Phillies hope will be the first home run trot of many.

In a way, though, the Rinconeses both knew that moment was coming long before he stepped into the box Monday night.

"I'm feeling all the emotions at once, but at the same time, Gabe is a man of his word -- always -- and he told me this was going to happen," Courtney said. "He told me he was gonna go to the [Major Leagues], and he told me that he was gonna do well here. So I've never felt nervous or anxious. Nothing but confident."

Well, that's not completely true. After all, Courtney had some anxious moments last Wednesday night in Scranton, Pa.

The couple was just about to call it a night at the hotel following Triple-A Lehigh Valley's victory earlier in the day when Rincones got an unexpected late-night call from IronPigs manager Chris “Tank” Adamson.

He told Rincones he needed to come back to the field … now.

"I'm like, 'OK, this can be like one of 10 things,’" Courtney said. "You just never know."

She went along for the ride and waited in the car while Rincones went inside.

"My mind just starts racing," she said. "I'm like, ‘Is he getting traded? Is he going up?’ I don't know, I don’t know, I don't know. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I called my dad."

Courtney's dad, Randy, did his best to keep her calm until Rincones finally re-emerged.

"Gabe comes out with his bags and just no expression. None," Courtney said. "So I get out and we put his bags in the car, still nothing. We get back in the car, and I can’t take it anymore so finally I just go, ‘Soooo … where are we going?!’"

“Well, what do you think?” he responded.

“I think you got the call,” Courtney said.

The smile breaking across his face confirmed she was right.

"It was surreal," Courtney said.

That moment didn't last long, though. There wasn't enough time to celebrate. They had to quickly return to the hotel, pack what they could and get to Milwaukee for the Phillies' weekend series against the Brewers.

And while getting to Milwaukee on short notice wasn't exactly easy, with flights across the Midwest getting cancelled due to a series of nasty storms, that was nothing compared to what Rincones' family had to navigate.

His first call after sharing the news with Courtney was to his mom, Rosiris, and sister, Camila -- all the way over in Scotland, where they live. With the time difference, it was already in the early morning hours of Thursday at that point, but the two immediately started to get ready.

The Phillies helped facilitate the travel to get both Rosiris and Camila to Milwaukee in time to see Rincones' Major League debut on Friday night. It was a special moment for Rincones, even if his first big league assignment was facing Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski.

Rincones wasn't in the lineup on Saturday or Sunday, giving him a chance to process the whirlwind few days -- or maybe not.

“I process things really slow," he said. "[Facing] one of the best pitchers in baseball, crazy travel day going up to Milwaukee with pretty bad weather there at the time … but I got good sleep today, and I was able to come do my thing.”

Unfortunately, Rincones' mom and sister had to go back to Scotland following Sunday's game, so they weren't there to see his home debut.

Courtney almost wasn't there either.

"My flights kept getting canceled," she said. "But I finally got out this morning and got here in time. It was just crazy.”

Rincones wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

"She's my other half," Rincones said. "She anchors me down. I couldn't be more grateful to God for giving me someone like that."

Though he certainly hasn’t had nearly enough time to process it all, Rincones summed up his Philadelphia debut in one word.

"Epic," he said.