The Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of Jack Little from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday and somewhat surprisingly optioned Emmet Sheehan.
For Little, it represented his first opportunity at the Major League level. He was just with the team at Dodger Stadium on the taxi squad last weekend, but returned to the Minors without getting added onto the active roster.
Not only did that change ahead of the series finale against the San Diego Padres, but Little entered the game for his MLB debut as well.
With the first appearance under his belt, Little became the fifth Dodgers rookie to wear an MLB debut patch on his jersey this season. Roki Sasaki and Jack Dreyer previously did so when they both pitched in the Tokyo Series, while Hyeseong Kim and Dalton Rushing earned their respective patches in May.
The MLB debut jersey patch began as a partnership between MLB, the Players Association (MLBPA), Fanatics Collectibles and Topps in 2023. Players who make their MLB debut have a commemorative jersey patch on their sleeve, which is then authenticated for use in subsequent Topps products.
Michael Busch was the first Dodgers rookie to receive the special jersey patch under the partnership. He has since been joined by Bryan Hudson, Nick Robertson, Bobby Miller, Gavin Stone, Ricky Vanasco, Landon Knack, Andy Pages, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Justin Wrobleski, River Ryan, Ben Casparius, Sasaki, Dreyer, Kim, Rushing and now Little.
Jack Little hits Fernando Tatis Jr.
Unfortunately for Little, his debut became marred in controversy as he hit Fernando Tatis Jr. with a pitch in the ninth inning. It was the second time in the series that Tatis was hit, and it led to both benches clearing.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was adamant that Little did not intentionally hit Tatis, but he recognized there comes a responsibility with pitching inside.
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