Tough debut for rookie pitcher
Booker retires only one batter
By Josh Katzowitz
Post staff reporter

He entered the game with little fanfare as the crowd of 16,144 watched other Reds fans stuff their faces on the video board while Weird Al Yankovic sang a Michael Jackson parody about overeating. But to Chris Booker, this ridiculous moment was the apex of his career.

Eleven years spent in the minors waiting for this moment.

So what if hardly anybody noticed the Reds newcomer who was set to make his big league debut? The ninth inning of Monday's game was his time. Sure, he was nervous, but it wasn't because Weird Al was singing about massive amounts of food consumption.

"Very nervous," Booker said. 'I wanted to go, go, go. I couldn't control that."

His first pitch, a 91-mph fastball past a swinging Rickie Weeks, was a success. His fourth pitch, a 92-mph fastball past the Brewers' swinging second baseman, was a success. His fifth pitch was yet another triumph, a 78-mph splitter that caught Weeks looking for the strikeout.

For Booker, this was tremendous.

"That kind of calmed me down a little," Booker said. "But then guys I had been watching forever on TV started coming up. It had me going; it was more than I planned on doing out there."

On this night, Weeks would be Booker's only out. The final result for the 28-year-old: 1/3 of an inning, three hits, three runs (two earned) and one walk in the Reds' 6-1 loss to Milwaukee.

But Booker, whose contract was selected from Class AAA Louisville on Monday and was called up to Cincinnati with Allan Simpson, Joe Valentine and Miguel Perez, couldn't be too upset. After a year of starring at Class AAA Louisville, he finally reached a goal. He had pitched in the majors.

"Finally," Booker said, "I got my shot."

Booker's scoring line certainly wasn't pretty, but after Reds manager Jerry Narron replaced him with Simpson in the ninth, the fans gave him a nice ovation and his new teammates surrounded him in support when he got to the dugout.
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