On Monday, all of the major South Florida news outlets posted stories about Carroll making his Major League debut.
But I didn't want to present any of those, I wanted to wait until the hometown newspaper did its thing. They are always more interesting when it comes to reporting about a young player getting their first shot in the highest level that baseball has to offer. And The Daily News Journal of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, didn't disappoint.
The former MTSU baseball standout was called up Saturday to the Florida Marlins from Triple-A Albuquerque. Sunday afternoon, in his first ever major league appearance, Carroll found himself in the starting lineup for the Marlins in their contest against Kansas City.
"It still doesn't seem quite real," said Carroll, who was a two-time All-Sun Belt selection while at MTSU before being drafted by Florida in the 10th round of the first-year player draft in 2004. "Yesterday was so busy, running around getting equipment and stuff. Then, I met Fredi (Gonzalez), the manager, and he told me I was going to be out there."
The start capped a hectic weekend which began when Carroll had an afternoon nap interrupted by a phone call from Albuquerque manager Dean Treanor.
"I was asleep and he called me and told me to pack my stuff and get over there," said Carroll. "I asked him if it was good or bad, and he told me I was going to the major leagues."
While it probably wasn't the debut Carroll envisioned --he went 0-for-3 at the plate and committed a pair of errors in center field -- he says that he wouldn't change anything about his first day in the major leagues.
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Carroll prepped at Bearden High School in Knoxville before signing to play for coach Steve Peterson at MTSU beginning in 2002. A third baseman in college, Carroll earned All-Sun Belt honors in 2003 and 2004 before being drafted after his junior year.
"I couldn't predict that he would end up being a pro baseball player when he got here," said MTSU coach Steve Peterson. "I definitely saw he had professional ability. I only hoped he had it inside him to work hard. He did that here. And then when he got a taste of professional baseball, he wanted to be in the big leagues."
Welcome aboard Brett.