Seth Lugo was halfway through dinner with his girlfriend at a Las Vegas seafood restaurant on Wednesday when his cellphone rang. He had not programmed the number of his Class AAA Las Vegas manager, Wally Backman, into his phone, but he answered the unrecognized caller, anyway.
Backman delivered the news of a lifetime to Lugo, the 1,032nd pick in the 2011 draft. The Mets, in need of a fresh arm, had called up Lugo, a 26-year-old right-handed reliever, to make his major league debut. Lugo rushed home, packed and caught a flight to New York.