Bronx Blast
Yankees Pitching Prospect Sean Henn was brought up from Class AA Trenton to start for the New York Yankees. How getting blasted on your first trip to the Bigs may not be bad for your career after all.

Jeff Berlinicke
Minor League News

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - It isn’t often that getting shelled in your major league debut earns you a promotion.

That’s what happened to New York Yankees prospect Sean Henn on May 4, 2005. He was an emergency call-up when Yankees starting pitcher Randy Johnson complained of a groin injury the night before his scheduled start against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

With opposing hitters batting .308 against Pete Munro, arguably the best hurler at the Yankees AAA level Columbus Clippers club, the Yankees made a rare move, reaching down to Class AA Trenton for an emergency starter who would be willing to spend one night in the big leagues with a guarantee of a trip right back to the minors the following day.

Henn, who had been dominating in AA ball, got the call on May 2, two days prior to his start, and immediately arranged for friends and family to make their way from his hometown, Fort Worth, Texas, to St. Petersburg. Most drove for at least 16 hours to reach the game.

Sean was 2-1 with a 0.71 earned run average at Trenton where he also pitched last season, going 6-8 with a 4.41 ERA. Only two seasons ago, Henn was in Rookie League Tampa. Three years ago he missed the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

The Trenton Kid had gone from an uncertain future to trying to stop a Yankee losing skid that has George Steinbrenner pointing fingers and naming names.

“It was a whirlwind for me because I never expected it,” Henn said of being told to get to St. Petersburg immediately. “I knew I’d be nervous, but it was so exciting I didn’t have time to think much about it. ‚

Henn had been waiting for this moment since he pitched for the first time at the age of 6.

After two years in the JC ranks at McLennan Community College in Texas, he was taken by the Yankees in the 26th round of the amateur draft.

2001 saw him dispatched to pitching at Class A Staten Island, but he suffered an arm injury that kept him out the following year.

<<Back | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next>>