Chicago Cubs closer David Robertson, 37, fulfills dream by hitting in a major-league game for the 1st time

PITTSBURGH — David Robertson waited 14 years for this moment.

The Chicago Cubs’ 37-year-old closer had been itching to step into the batter’s box just once during his major-league career. His time finally arrived Wednesday night at PNC Park in the Cubs’ 14-5 blowout win against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Robertson had not taken an official at-bat since high school as a shortstop and pitcher in Tuscaloosa, Ala., a stretch that included 787 pitching appearances in professional baseball dating to when the New York Yankees drafted him out of the University of Alabama in 2006.

But Robertson held out hope that chance would arise at some point during his big-league career. The situation certainly was unconventional. With two outs in the top of the ninth, Robertson hit against Pirates infielder Diego Castillo.

As everyone in the Cubs dugout lined up against the railing for a front-row view, Castillo struck out a swinging Robertson on a full count. In honor of his first career MLB at-bat, Robertson was given the Cubs’ lineup card from the game. He plans to find a place to hang it in his home.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever get another opportunity, so I’m glad I did and made my dream come true,” Robertson said. “Even though I struck out.”

Robertson borrowed Christopher Morel’s bat and Yan Gomes’ helmet. Someone offered him batting gloves, but he declined. He figured they wouldn’t matter because Robertson’s approach was simple: swing hard and hit the ball.

“I really wasn’t thinking about anything else,” Robertson said. “It seemed like the mound was very close.”

His memorable moment initially was a long shot.

Robertson, who pitched a scoreless eighth, needed the offense’s help to get to the plate. He was slotted into the designated hitter spot in the order, which wasn’t due up until eighth in the final inning. Castillo retired two of the first three Cubs he faced, but Andrelton Simmons walked, Jason Heyward was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Alfonso Rivas followed with his first career grand slam. Rafael Ortega’s two-strike single brought up Robertson.

“I didn’t think it was actually going to happen,” he said.

Robertson smiled.

“And then I blew it. I blew it.”

Robertson fell behind Castillo 1-2 before working a full count. He whiffed on the sixth pitch of the at-bat, elevated above the zone for a would-be ball. Robertson didn’t see a pitch faster than 55.4 mph. One of his three swings-and-misses came on a 40.4-mph eephus.

Throughout the sequence, a grin stretched across Robertson’s face.

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“It was fun to get in the box, I just couldn’t hit the ball,” Robertson said. “It was so slow and I wasn’t going to walk. … I mean, it’s easy to tell when it’s a ball or strike when it’s, like, 40 miles an hour, but I wasn’t going to walk. I had to swing. I had to try.”

Manager David Ross had broached the topic with Robertson before the Pirates brought in Castillo for the ninth. Ross said he had been looking to get Robertson an at-bat a couple of times this season and wasn’t sure it was going to work out Wednesday.

Robertson’s coaches and teammates got some laughs out of watching him hit. Ross joked that Robertson had “too much bad speed for how slow it was coming.” He noticed Robertson couldn’t stop smiling on deck and called him a kid at heart, even when the veteran’s pitching.

Robertson said he “absolutely” heard it from his teammates after walking back into the dugout after his strikeout, all in good fun, proclaiming: “They were wearing me out.” Ian Happ, who homered in the win, joked about Robertson needing to get in the cage to work on his swing.

“That was tough,” said an amused Keegan Thompson after holding the Pirates to one run in six innings. “He’s been begging for an at-bat the whole year and he swung and missed three times. I mean, at least he swung, but you’ve got to put the ball in play.”

Baseball is a long season, and for a Cubs team closer to last place than first, the levity of Robertson hitting was welcomed.

“It felt like first time I’ve laughed in the dugout in a while, so that definitely felt good,” Ross said. “These guys continue to come in and work hard, and you want to see them succeed and us succeed, and the nights when you have the ability to relax and take the focus off of so many little things and just have a little bit of fun and watch D-Rob get up there and a position player versus pitcher for once, (it) was fun to watch.”