.@Twins call up Tyler Duffey, but he didn't have passport to go to Toronto.
Dad to the rescue! http://t.co/WBWgrrMTKA pic.twitter.com/lj0xYchVFe— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 3, 2015
Pitcher Tyler Duffey will make his major league debut when the Twins face the Blue Jays on Wednesday, and the journey that’s led him to the pitcher’s mound in Toronto is an interesting one.
Since Duffey was not on the 40-man roster, he was surprised by the call-up and didn’t have his passport with him.
So his father, Tim, hopped on a flight from Houston to Rochester, New York, to bring Duffey his passport on Sunday. The two of them then made the three-hour drive to Toronto to join the Twins in time for Monday’s game.
“The one place only I would get called up to is Toronto, not having my passport,” Duffey told MLB.com’s Twins’ blogger Rhett Bollinger. “So at 6 a.m. yesterday, my dad had to catch a flight to Rochester with my passport and his passport. And then we drove up yesterday and got the scenic route to Toronto. So it’s been a wild 48 hours or so.”
Of course, Tyler Duffey and his dad Tim stopped at Tim Horton's on the drive up from Rochester. "They're everywhere — like ants."
— Mike BerardinoNDI (@MikeBerardino) August 3, 2015
According to The Associated Press, the two drove past Niagara Falls, but did not have time to stop. After the 170 mile drive both Duffey and his dad arrived in time to join the team for their afternoon game in Toronto.
Duffey was called up when the Twins placed left-hander Tommy Milone of the 15-day disabled list with a mild left elbow strain.
“I can’t even put into words what if feels like to be here right now,” Duffey said. “I’m excited to be here.”
Duffey, 24, posted a 2.66 ERA with 117 strikeouts and 30 walks in 132 innings between double-A Chattanooga and triple-A Rochester. Bollinger notes that Duffey has allowed only one home run in the minors this season.
