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ARLINGTON -- The last time Jordan Tata stepped onto this field, he was pitching in a high school showcase game. He didn't get to use the clubhouse that time, but he snuck around and took a peek inside.
Not only did Tata get to use the visiting clubhouse this time around, he took a Major League charter to get here.

"Everybody keeps saying it's like the movie, 'The Rookie,'" Tata said Thursday afternoon. "Hopefully I have as good a career as that pitcher did."

On the same day Tata made his return to Texas and Major League debut, the Tigers honored Tim Grieve as their Scout of the Year for 2005. Coincidentally, Grieve recommended and signed Tata back in 2003 off the fields of Sam Houston State. The timing wasn't intentional, but it was a reminder of how far Tata has come since the days he was here as a fan.

Tata grew up a Red Sox enthusiast, thanks to his father, and his family didn't move to Texas until he was near his teenage years. But once he became a Dallas resident, he took to Rangers games. He was in the stands for the 1994 All-Star Game, and he was one of the kids hanging around the dugouts before games looking for autographs.

"I got a ton of them," Tata said. "I was an annoying kid begging for baseballs and autographs. I try to be patient with [autograph seekers] nowadays."

Among the autographs he earned was one from Ivan Rodriguez. That made for what he called a "surreal" moment when Tata took to the mound during Spring Training for his first pitch in a Major League uniform, with Pudge behind the plate.

Rodriguez caught Tata's first big league pitch in the regular season, too -- a 94 mph fastball for a strike to Kevin Mench with one out in the sixth inning on Thursday.

"I haven't told him yet," Tata said. "Too embarrassed."

When he finally had a chance to pitch on this field as a high schooler, the big leagues still seemed worlds away, and for good reason. The showcase tournament was for players who had been overlooked by scouts and colleges. Tata had dreamed of playing at Baylor, but even walking on there was out of his reach. He thought about quitting the game altogether, but his parents talked him into keeping with it, even though it meant a startup baseball program at tiny Bartlesville Wesleyan College.

He slept in places with four students to a room. He squeezed into vans on long road trips. And he pitched well enough to get back into Texas at Sam Houston State, where he pitched well enough to get noticed by Grieve.

He pitched well enough from there to get back to Texas. This time, he got into the big league clubhouse.

Tata was expecting well-wishers in the park all weekend. Fortunately for him, Tata bought about 20 tickets for family members, college buddies and ex-teammates on Thursday, and 10 more bought tickets on their own. He had no idea what day, if any, he would pitch.
Actually I was kind of dissappointed in his pitching last night. He really needs to improve and I was quite surprised that Leyland didn't take him out earlier.