On the same day Detroit announces the move, he is on the mound
BLACKSBURG – On Saturday, September 3, the Detroit Tigers officially announced the promotion of former Virginia Tech pitcher Joe Mantiply to the Major League level. Mantiply became the 19th Hokie to reach the highest level of professional baseball and joined the club in Kansas City that evening.
The Tigers wasted no time in getting the rookie on the field, as Mantiply appeared on the mound on Saturday. Called in from the bullpen into a second-and-third, two-out situation in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Royals, lefty Mantiply used just two pitches to get left-handed hitter Jarrod Dyson to fly out to center to end the threat (see video here).