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Schools

Hun Grad Called Up to the NY Yankees

Trenton Thunder Pitcher Steve Garrison flew to Tampa on Tuesday after getting the call

Steve Garrison received the call of every baseball kid's dreams, and nearly missed it.

That'll teach him to put his cell phone on silent.

Garrison, a 2005 Hun School graduate and Ewing native was summoned to the big leagues Tuesday by the Yankees, a day before he was scheduled to start for the Double-A Trenton Thunder.  

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"It was tough getting a hold of him," Thunder manager Tony Franklin said. "I was panicking. I called him three or four times. Apparently, he was sleeping."

He hasn't rested much since.

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Garrison, who lives with his mother this season, about five miles from the park, missed a number of calls from Franklin and team trainer Tim Lentych before he finally got the message at 10:30 a.m.

By 11:15, he had showered, packed, retrieved his belongings from the stadium and was on his way to Philadelphia airport, chauffered by his mom.     

He barely made his flight and didn't eat until he landed in Tampa, where the Yankees were playing the Rays.    

"It hasn't really hit me yet," Garrison told reporters in Tampa. "I haven't stopped sweating since I woke up this morning."    

Garrison's call-up is a matter of timing. With right-hander Sergio Mitre on the disabled list, the Yankees sought an arm who could pitch in long relief, if needed.

Garrison was the freshest from among candidates at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Trenton.    

Franklin said he received a call from Yankees general manager Brian Cashman Tuesday about Garrison's availability. The two spoke for a while, and Cashman later called back with the official word.

"You make your decision based on what the need is, what that player will be doing and for how long," Franklin said. "All of those things are taken into account. He may be back sometime soon, but nevertheless, he's in the big leagues today and that's a good thing." 

Garrison went 3-6 with a 6.26 ERA in, but was coming off his best outing of the season, in which he allowed one run on four hits in six innings against the Reading Phillies.     

A groin injury cost him nearly two months in May and June and limited him to 46 innings for the Thunder, but it was enough for the Yankees to give him a chance.     

"It's exciting for him," Thunder pitching coach Tommy Phelps said."He'll get an opportunity to show what he can do (at the big-league level). He can command his fastball. He throws strikes and has experience."    

While his stay may be short, Garrison helped himself by pitching well in spring training. He was one of the final cuts, losing the final bullpen slot to Luis Ayala, but left an impression on Yankees manager Joe Girardi.     

"We saw (Garrison) in spring training," Girardi said. "We liked what we saw. We've used him out of the bullpen before, where some of these other kids haven’t been used out of the bullpen."     

Should that bullpen phone ring to summon him into a big-league game, Garrison will certainly hear it.

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