CHICAGO -- The first calls placed by Jace Fry after finding out two days ago of his promotion from Double-A Birmingham to the White Sox went to his family.
Actually, the calls went to family members the left-handed reliever could contact.
"My dad actually was on a fishing trip, so he was out of service. I still haven't even talked to him yet," Fry said. "He said he hopped on the first flight, though, that he's coming out here.
"He'll be here as soon as possible. My mom and fiancee both thought I was lying, like, 'No, quit messing with me,' and, 'You're kidding.' I was like, 'I'm not, so go get that flight booked.' And that was the first thing they did."
Fry's father will arrive Thursday, but he had a strong family contingency including his mom, fiancee, sister, brother and aunt at Guaranteed Rate Field on Tuesday when he made his Major League debut in the ninth inning of a 9-4 loss to the Indians. Fry allowed a Carlos Santana single and a walk among the three hitters he faced, and both scored when Chris Beck gave up a Yan Gomes homer after replacing Fry.
It still was an experience not to be forgotten.
"Obviously it wasn't what I wanted, but my family is still sending me texts as proud as if I were to go out and strike out the side," Fry said. "It was awesome to get in the game in front of my family and everyone here. It was a dream come true."
Even after undergoing a second Tommy John surgery on June 18, 2015, and missing the entire '16 season, Fry never doubted his Major League potential. The 24-year-old posted a 2.78 ERA over 33 appearances for Birmingham before joining Aaron Bummer as the southpaws in the White Sox bullpen over the final month of the '17 season.
"I feel blessed, blessed to be healthy now and to have had good people to support me the entire time through both the surgeries [first one as a sophomore at Oregon State] and the entire grind all the way up," Fry said. "I just feel happy to have those people around me.
"I was expecting to have a few more butterflies out on the mound. It felt good to go in and have a first-pitch strike. [Santana] crushed it, but I was glad I was in the zone and came back and attacked the next hitter. Threw some good pitches. They laid off a couple of good pitches, but I thought we will just get them next time."