TJ Friedl arrived at the Cincinnati airport on Saturday morning, called up from Triple-A Louisville after Jesse Winker and Shogo Akiyama were placed on the injured list, and he saw his mom riding the escalator to baggage claim.
“It was pretty cool because we were walking to our baggage claim and TJ looks up and says, ‘hey, there’s my Mom,’” said reliever Art Warren, another callup Saturday. “‘No way, what are you talking about?’ ‘No seriously, that’s my Mom.’ That was cool for me to witness that, his mom being there for his callup. That was pretty sweet.”
It was a surprise for Friedl, who knew his mom was supposed to land around the same time, but he didn’t expect to see her at the airport. His mom was wearing his spring training jersey.
“(Warren) saw that jersey, he's like, 'dude, we have to surprise her,’” Friedl said. “So, I got a really good video of that one. I just randomly tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned around and she was shocked.”
Friedl, a 26-year-old left-handed hitter, made his Major League debut Saturday when he pinch-hit in the eighth inning against Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly. Friedl had an infield pop-out.
