During the day Wednesday, Chance Veazey jokingly asked Alex Wood when he was going to get called up to the big leagues.
So Veazey was understandably skeptical when Wood, his former teammate at the University of Georgia, called him later that night to tell him he was joining the Braves.
“’If you aren’t telling the truth, I’m never going to be your friend again,’” Veazey said he told Wood.
Wood wasn’t joking. The Braves promoted him from Double-A Mississippi to bolster its injury-depleted bullpen, and he was with the team for Thursday night’s game against Toronto at Turner Field.
Wood made his debut in the ninth inning with the Braves holding an 11-3 lead. After allowing a single to Colby Rasmus, Wood ended the game by getting Maicer Izturis to ground into a double play.
“It felt pretty awesome, especially to get that double play to end the game,” Wood said. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to get in there. It was kind of a close game there for a while and the bats came alive and we ended up scoring a bunch of runs.
“I was fortunate to get in there at the end. It was pretty special. When I walked out there I heard some Dawgs fans barking and everyone cheering. It was a pretty neat moment, for sure.”
Wood seemed a bit dazed after the final out. Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman had to get his attention to flip him the ball as a keepsake from his first major-league game.
“It was nice to get ‘Woody’ in there and get a chance on his first day,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “Don’t let him sit around and think about it. Let him get in there ninth inning. I think there was a lot of Georgia fans in the stadium today.”
As Wood took the field during Braves batting practice, Veazey and a couple of mutual friends watched from near the Braves’ dugout. Wood stopped to hug his friends before heading out to shag fly balls.
Veazey was paralyzed from the waist down after a scooter accident during the fall of his and Wood’s freshman year at Georgia, in 2009. The two became close friends and roommates in Athens.
“He’s kind of living through me a little bit,” Wood said before batting practice. “He’s the second person I called after my parents last night. He’s kind of beside himself. I’m really excited to see him and share the night with him.”
A year ago the buddies were in Athens watching Braves games on television after Georgia’s season had ended and Wood prepared to head home to Charlotte, N.C. A few days later the Braves selected Wood in the second round of the amateur draft.
Wood spent last season with Single-A Rome, had a strong spring training with the major league club this year and was off to a good start with Mississippi. Wood caught Frank Wren’s eye when the Braves general manager recently watched him pitch and called him up after injuries and other circumstances left the Braves short on pitchers.
Wood found out he was headed to Atlanta when Mississippi manager Aaron Holbert broke the news to him in front of the team.
“It’s unbelievable,” Wood said. “This time last year I was packing up stuff in Athens and headed home. Now I’m back here in Atlanta. It’s storybook. It’s hard to believe, and I’m still trying to put it together. I’m ready to get that first outing under my wing, so I can get all of this out of the way and go from there.”
Wood said he was a Braves fan growing up, but also had affection for the Mets because his father is from Long Island.
“We used to come to all the Braves and Mets games at Turner, and I’d have on like a Mets hat and Braves everything else,” he said. “It was kind of a weird combination, especially the time I was growing up and the rivalry.”
Wood’s friends bought tickets for the games Thursday and Friday with the hope they would get to see him make his big-league debut.
“We knew it was only a matter of time with him,” Veazey said. “He’s a hard worker, he’s got great talent. He puts a lot into this game. I’m just excited for him. He deserves it.”
