“Play until someone doesn’t give you a uniform anymore” - 32-year-old San Francisco Giants player makes an inspirational comeback to the majors

The San Francisco Giants recently called up 32-year-old utility player Jason Krizan from the minor leagues. The inspirational story was the fruit of an 11-year journey for the player. Krizan spent those years and 1,132 games in minor league play, and on Friday night, he was called up to the big leagues.

A native of Pfluggerville, Texas, Krizan had a base on balls and went 0-for-3 in his first start in the majors in the Giants' 11-4 defeat to the Washington Nationals. He started the game in left field in front of his family members, who flew all the way from Texas to watch his debut. The following day, Krizan made his first major league hit.

"Jason Krizan’s wife, sister, parents and two-year-old son Carter flew in from Austin this afternoon. They made it in time for his MLB debut" - @ Alex Pavlovic

Jason Krizan certainly drew inspiration from what his father told him after being selected by the Detroit Tigers in the eighth round of the 2011 MLB Draft:

"Play until someone doesn't give you a uniform anymore."

Krizan expressed his gratitude for being given the opportunity in his debut game for the San Francisco Giants.

“Obviously, I wish we would have won. But being able to come out and play in a Major League Baseball game was an awesome experience. It’s something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”

It was a long and uphill battle for Krizan, who spent more than a decade in the minor league system before finally catching a break. Before making his major league debut, he was batting .316 with 16 homers over 110 games for the Sacramento River Cats in 2021.

“It would have been easy to just give up, but I’m glad I’m still here...I’m very thankful for the grind. My road to the big leagues wasn’t normal, but I’m thankful for my journey.”

It is uncertain if the veteran player will be kept by the San Francisco Giants for the entirety of the season. But if there are any takeaways from Krizan's debut, it would be to keep believing in yourself no matter how daunting the challenges life throws at you. Because one day, it will all pay off.

Jason Krizan's Journey to the San Francisco Giants

Jason Krizan had been playing minor league ball for 11 years.

Jason Krizan started off his baseball career in his home state of Texas. He played college ball for Dallas Baptist University. In 2011, he set an NCAA Division I record by accumulating 39 doubles in the season. He also played a key part in his university's first NCAA Division I tournament game victory. After his stellar campaign, he was named to the 2011 College Baseball All-America Teams.

He was then selected by the Detroit Tigers as the 257th overall pick in the 2011 MLB draft and was assigned to the Class-A West Michigan Whitecaps. After his stint with the Whitecaps, he then played for the Lakeland Flying Tigers.

In 2015, he was called up to the Tigers' spring training squad but was cut before the season started. He then played for the Toledo Mud Hens in Triple A but was demoted to the Eerie SeaWolves in Double A. He signed a minor league deal in 2018 with the New York Mets after years in the Detroit system.

On December 13, 2021, he proceeded to sign with the San Francisco Giants on a minor league deal and received an invitation to Spring Training in the offseason. That leads us to this day when he made his major league debut on April 29. Two days later, he recorded his first major league hit.

"After 11 seasons and 1,132 games in the minors, @JasonKrizan has his first big league knock 🙌 " - @ San Francisco Giants

If there's anything that this inspirational story has taught us, it's to always bet on yourself and work hard to achieve your dreams no matter how hard the circumstances are.