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Kayla Wolf \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n
Chicago White Sox and Winkler-product Tristan Peters hits a double during the fourth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday. It was the first major league hit for Peters.<\/p>\n
Peters, the pride of Winkler, started this MLB season with a bang, belting his first career hit last Saturday in Milwaukee \u2014 a line-drive double to left field off Brewers right-hander Chad Patrick.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuper pumped,\u201d the 26-year-old outfielder for the Chicago White Sox told the Free Press this week in a telephone interview from the Windy City.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo finally be able to get my first hit, that was a very exciting moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turns out he was just getting warmed up. Peters followed it up with six more hits over the next five games \u2014 including a game-winning walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning on Friday afternoon against the team he grew up cheering for, the Toronto Blue Jays.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s quite the dramatic way to get your first RBI. Peters was mobbed by his White Sox teammates after the biggest swing of his young career off closer Jeff Hoffman led to the 5-4 final, improving his team\u2019s record to 2-5.<\/p>\n
In the process, he\u2019s raised his average to .350 (7-for-20), with all of the damage coming in the past seven days.<\/p>\n
Compare that to last year, when Peters was with the Tampa Bay Rays organization and went a combined 0-for-12 during a pair of late-season call-ups over four games.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo finally be able to get my first hit, that was a very exciting moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Admittedly, some doubt began to creep into his head. Was he just destined to be a solid player at the Triple-A level but nothing more?<\/p>\n
\u201cSitting on that for a whole off-season, not knowing when the next time I\u2019m going to be up\u2026 you\u2019re definitely thinking about it,\u201d said Peters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re trying to get that first one, you\u2019re definitely tightening up a little bit, and you\u2019re really just trying super hard to get it, even when you say you\u2019re trying not to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
So what changed? A December trade from the Rays to the White Sox didn\u2019t hurt. Peters\u2019 path to regular playing time in Tampa Bay was likely blocked by the fact they had 10 other outfielders on their 40-man roster, including several veterans.<\/p>\n
That wasn\u2019t the case for Chicago, which is in a full-blown rebuild and looking for some younger players to take on more prominent roles.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely there\u2019s a ton more opportunity,\u201d said Peters. \u201cGranted, it wasn\u2019t easy either to make this team. There\u2019s a lot of great players here, too, but it\u2019s definitely a younger team, just more openings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Confidence is such a big thing in baseball, as Yogi Berra famously summarized when he stated the sport is \u201c90 per cent mental. The other half is physical.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Rebecca Blackwell \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n Chicago White Sox outfielder Tristan Peters has added six more hits to his major league stats after recording his first major league hit on Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers \u2014 including the game-winning walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning on Friday.<\/p>\n For Peters, getting that first hit out of the way was like a weight off his shoulders.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a confidence booster, like, \u2018Oh yeah, I can definitely do this,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Peters takes great pride in being the first Manitoban since Koskie \u2014 who hails from Anola and was a major inspiration to him \u2014 to make his mark in MLB and snapping a 20-year provincial hitless \u201cdrought\u201d in the process.<\/p>\n \u201cVery honoured. There\u2019s a very select few people (to make it from the province), and I definitely think about that a lot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI know there are a lot of people supporting me back home. It\u2019s just really cool and really encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s a touch of serendipity in Peters\u2019 first hit coming against Milwaukee \u2014 the team Koskie played for on July 4, 2006, when he hit a two-run homer for his 936th and final big-league hit.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, a severe concussion suffered the very next day while diving for a ball ended Koskie\u2019s nine-year pro career, which began with the Minnesota Twins, included a stop with Toronto and finished with Milwaukee.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a confidence booster, like, \u2018Oh yeah, I can definitely do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Peters was actually drafted by Milwaukee in 2021 (seventh round, 207th overall) after finishing his collegiate career at Southern Illinois. He was traded to San Francisco in August 2022 for pitcher Trevor Rosenthal, then to Tampa Bay three months later for infielder Brett Wisely.<\/p>\n Now, his third swap seems to have been the charm.<\/p>\n To say these last few weeks have been a whirlwind for Peters would be an understatement. His wife, Erin, just gave birth a month ago to their first child, a girl. It happened while he was in spring training with the White Sox down in Arizona.<\/p>\n \u201cChaos,\u201d Peters said with a laugh.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely been a challenge juggling all of it. I think we\u2019ve done a pretty good job of handling it all. I\u2019m feeling pretty comfortable with baseball, and my wife is just a superstar.\u201d<\/p>\n The family of three is now apartment hunting in Chicago, with the hope that Peters might just be sticking around for a while, rather than heading to the White Sox Triple-A affiliate down in Charlotte, N.C.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Erin Hooley \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n Winkler\u2019s Tristan Peters (29) celebrates his game-winning walk-off RBI single with his Chicago White Sox teammates Friday over the Toronto Blue Jays.<\/p>\n \u201cWe weren\u2019t sure where we were going to end up. The day before we broke camp, that\u2019s when they told me that I made the team. And so it\u2019s been crazy ever since,\u201d said Peters.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just living in a hotel right now. But I feel like I\u2019ll be here for a good amount of time at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n While Peters is thrilled his bat is heating up, his bread-and-butter is his defensive acumen. There\u2019s no shortage of highlight-reel catches on his resum\u00e9 at the Triple-A level.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a huge part of my game. I focus on it a lot,\u201d he said, noting last year\u2019s success in the minors (.266 with 15 home runs, 28 doubles and 76 RBI in 136 games with the Durham Bulls) proved he can be a solid, multi-tool player.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I kind of put myself on the map a little more,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019d be here if I didn\u2019t have the year I had last year, right?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t Peters is now excited to be playing in the Central Division, which brings him a lot closer to home \u2014 especially when the White Sox visit Minnesota, as they\u2019ll do at the beginning of June. Expect a large delegation from southern Manitoba to make the trip.<\/p>\n More than anything, he\u2019s embracing this chance to prove he\u2019s now where he belongs and in a great sports city like Chicago as well.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Erin Hooley \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n Winkler\u2019s Tristan Peters received a celebratory Gatorade shower after his game-winning walk-off RBI single Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all just super cool,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a great group of guys, and a very talented group, too. It\u2019s a very exciting team to be a part of, and just a great opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/mikemcintyre<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Mike McIntyre Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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