The first Indian-born pitcher in the 148-year history of the U.S. Major League Baseball has been born. The star of the game is Texas pitcher Kumar Locker (25) of the Texas Rangers. Rocker started in an away game against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday and allowed seven strikeouts, two walks and three hits (one homer) during four innings, helping his team win 5-4. 토토사이트
“It will be especially meaningful to my mother, who always emphasized the fact that I am of Indian descent,” Rocker said after her debut match with her parents watching. Rocker was born to Lou, her mother, who was born to an Indian immigrant family in the U.S., and Tracy, her father who was a former NFL player. Kumar also means “prince” in Hindi. “When Kumar was two years old, I told my husband, ‘He will become an MLB pitcher,’ and it became a reality,” Lou said.
Rocker chose to go to college after receiving the 1,146th overall pick from Colorado in the 2018 MLB Rookie Draft when he was a high school senior. Rocker awarded Vanderbilt the NCAA World Series trophy in 2019, and the New York Mets drafted him with the 10th overall pick in the 2021 draft. However, he failed to sign a contract due to his shoulder injury. After returning from surgery, he was able to start his professional career by receiving the 3rd overall pick from Texas in the 2022 draft. However, his MLB debut was postponed due to Tommy John surgery.
Rocker said, “It wasn’t easy to get here, but I’ve tried so far to be a proud son to my parents,” adding, “I hit a home run while throwing a fastball today, and I’ll be able to show better performance when the ball comes back.”