Categories: Features

How a red-eye flight from a Little League teammate made Michael Mercado’s first start that much more special

Michael Mercado pitched five innings in his first big league start. (Grace Del Pizzo/Phillies Nation)

CHICAGO — The Egans had it all planned out.

Their flight would leave southern California on Wednesday night, in time to see Michael Mercado make his first major league start the following day. It was a moment two decades in the making. They weren’t going to miss it.

And then the schedule changed. Mercado wasn’t starting on Thursday. He was starting on Tuesday.

The plan had wavered. The Egans’ determination had not.

It was a moment two decades in the making. They were not going to miss it.

“Got in here at 4:30 in the morning,” Dan Egan told Phillies Nation, sitting in Wrigley Field’s section 26, in the bottom of the fifth inning Tuesday in Chicago. “Just been anxious to get here.”

Alex Egan holds signs with pictures of himself and Michael Mercado from their grade school days in Escondido, Calif. (Nathan Ackerman / Phillies Nation)

Alex Egan was Mercado’s Little League teammate in Escondido, Calif., coached by Dan. The two attended elementary and middle school together and lived in the same neighborhood, which, along with sharing a baseball field, kickstarted a friendship that dates back to first grade. “It was just an awesome time,” Alex Egan recalled Tuesday.

It was only Little League, but he knew Mercado was going to be special.

“He was definitely the most hard-working kid — like, you could tell from the jump he was gonna be very successful in anything he wanted to do,” Egan said of the now-25-year-old Phillies righty. “I appreciated that about our friendship. Because we pushed each other a lot, both on the field, in the classroom. He stayed the course, and I kind of jutted off to do other things. But clearly it’s working out for him. So I’m stoked.”

It’s working out for him, indeed, while the red-eye travel and sleepless night paid off for the Egans as well. They got to see their longtime friend earn his first career win after throwing five innings of one-run, two-hit ball at the Friendly Confines.

“It’s awesome,” Dan said as Mercado was finishing up his outing. “Unbelievable. And couldn’t happen to a nicer kid. He’s been just a great kid since he was this big. Just, great kid, great family. Yeah. Super great people.”

Mercado knew Alex would be in attendance, but Dan, plus his wife and Alex’s mom Pam — as well as Alex’s college friend Carl — were a surprise.

“Oh, it’s huge,” Mercado said after the game about the Egans traveling out to support him. “To have friends like that from back home that are willing to make the trip is so much fun. I’ll definitely be seeing them tomorrow.”

After the game, Mercado spoke about how special it was to earn his first major league win at a venue as historic as Wrigley Field. July 2, 2024 will be etched into his memory forever.

The Egans, right there in section 26, congratulating him with throwback Mercado photos and a round of applause that built for almost 20 years, make it that much more impossible to forget.