WASHINGTON -- Chase Utley once learned he had been promoted to the big leagues on a bus ride from Scranton, Pa., to Ottawa, Canada. The bus stopped in the middle of nowhere, Utley disembarked, and he waited at a sandwich shop for a ride back into town.
Roman Quinn and Jorge Alfaro took a car service from Reading, Pa., to Washington on Sunday morning.
"It is a surreal feeling right now, it definitely is," Quinn said before the Phillies' series finale against the Nationals.
Quinn is the No. 8 prospect in the organization, according to MLBPipeline.com. The Phillies immediately put him in the lineup, hitting second and playing him in center field. Alfaro, who joined the team for a day earlier this month after the Phillies traded Carlos Ruiz, but before A.J. Ellis arrived, started the day on the bench.
"I was pretty surprised about it, but I'm ready to go," Quinn said of his start.
Quinn figured to be promoted once Double-A Reading got eliminated from the postseason. Like Alfaro, he is on the 40-man roster. Quinn hit .287 with 14 doubles, six triples, six home runs, 25 RBIs, 31 stolen bases and an .802 OPS in 71 games.
He missed time this season with an oblique injury and a concussion, which has been the story of Quinn's Minor League career. He has immense talent, but he simply has been unable to stay healthy.
"I know, man. It's like everything possible went wrong," he said.
But Quinn is with the Phillies, and he is healthy, hoping to make a case for himself to make the Phillies' Opening Day roster next year.
"I had a lot of setbacks with injuries and everything like that that kept me back, but it all paid off, all the work I put in paid off and I'm glad to be here," Quinn said.