A champagne bottle was in Bobby Scales' locker Tuesday to help him toast his first callup to the Major Leagues after 10 years in the Minors.
The gift was from Brian Sweeney, a pitcher who was Scales' teammate in 2004 at Triple-A Portland. Sweeney began playing professional baseball in 1996 and didn't get called up to the big leagues until 2003 with Seattle.
Scales hasn't spoken to the pitcher in two or three years, but Sweeney didn't forget his friend. The bottle of champagne was a reminder of their perseverance.
The note attached said: "All the hard work paid off."
Scales, called up to the big leagues for the first time Monday, made his first Major League start Tuesday for the Cubs, got his first Major League hit, scored his first Major League run and whiffed for his first Major League strikeout.
Scales will still treasure the game ball and lineup card from his first game, well deserved after more than 1,000 Minor League at-bats.
"Nobody can ever take it from you," said Scales. "I got it, I earned it. I'm just fortunate to have it."
He struck out on four pitches in his first at-bat in the second inning, but he delivered a single to left with two outs in the fifth. As he got to first base, he could exhale.
"He threw me a fastball and I was able to get on top of it," Scales said. "There's no rocket science behind it. It found some grass.
Teammate Micah Hoffpauir said. "He's put in the time and has paid the price. He deserves everything he's got."
"The thing I had to work the most on, I had to work on my defense if I wanted to make it to the majors," Scales said.
He credited two coaches -- Tony Franklin and Bobby Dickerson with polishing his field work.
"Early on, Tony had a lot of work to do and he did the heavy lifting," Scales said. "It was one of those things where you think you're good and you're not."
The Padres apparently wanted to move Scales to the outfield, but Franklin lobbied to keep Scales in the infield.
"His belief in me, I can't tell you what it means," Scales said. "I don't have words for it."
Scales' time in the big leagues may be limited. Scales knows his role.
"I just have to do what Skip asks me to do," Scales said. "He called for me, so however he sees fit to use me, that's what I have to do."
He's come a long way. In the offseason, Scales is a teacher in the Alpharetta, Ga., area, and this past winter, he handled a physical education class and four health classes. Playing in front of 39,497 at Wrigley Field is a lot different than being in front of high schoolers.
"I knew for a fact I could play here and I could contribute to a big league team," Scales said. "That never wavered. Whether guys get opportunities, that's not up to me. There are guys at home, good players I know, who had better numbers than me and never had a chance. You wonder if that day will come but there was never a doubt I could play."
Piniella keeps calling Scales a "kid." In baseball terms, 31 is not considered young.
