Winkler’s Tristan Peters is enjoying quite the breakout rookie season in the majors of baseball.
The Chicago White Sox made him an everyday player in centre field, and Peters has flourished, getting named an American League all-star after becoming just the second Canadian to hit for the cycle in a big-league game.
“I dreamed of it ever since I was a kid,” said Peters.
It’s been a dream come true for the 26-year-old Peters. He got his first callup to the majors last season with the Tampa Bay Rays where he went 0-for-12 at the plate in appearing in just four games. But he’s making the most of his second chance with the White Sox after being acquired in a trade in the off-season where he thought he was headed back to the minor leagues.
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“It’s amazing,” he said. “It’s surreal every day really. It’s a blessing to be able to come to the ballpark in the big leagues.”
Peters is batting .301 with six homers and 36 RBI in the first 91 games in helping the White Sox lead the AL’s Central Division. His batting average this season is actually higher than it was the last four years in the minors.
“I think we’ve made some swing adjustments and stuff like that,” Peters said. “But ultimately too I think, I’ve talked about this with my wife. It’s just like, in the big leagues, winning matters a lot and I’m a very competitive person and I think that I thrive in an environment like that, especially with this team.
“Everybody here wants to win. Everybody lifts you up and I feel like that is a big part of why I’ve been able to play at the level I’m playing at.”
It took Peters just five short years to go from Manitoba Junior Baseball League to the Major Leagues. He was the MJBL’s batting champion and rookie of the year with the Pembina Valley Orioles. He left home at just 16 to pursue his big-league dream in Alberta and that’s where he first realized it could become a very real possibility.
“I remember when I first went to Okotoks, they were talking about a guy getting drafted,” said Peters. “And I was like wow that’s actually possible. I could do that. It felt so far away but then it really started getting bigger and bigger.”
And now the sky is the limit.
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