MINNESOTA — On Tuesday night, former Air Force Falcon pitcher Griffin Jax made his MLB debut with the Minnesota Twins.
From the Air Force Academy to the Show. Welcome, Griffin! pic.twitter.com/HEPrUfR3HL
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) June 5, 2021
Jax also made history by becoming the first graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy to appear in an MLB game.
"The path I took to this point has really been unique," explained Jax after making his debut at Target Field. "It sort of helped formulate and mold me into into a different type of person"
Jax made his debut in the top of the ninth inning of the Twins’ 8-4 loss to the Yankees, giving up homers to Gary Sánchez and Miguel Andújar but also picking up his first Major League strikeout by fanning Tyler Wade in between.
"I'm truly grateful and excited to represent the Air Force in this capacity, in this way." said the Arizona native. :I think they have helped me, pushed me into a platform to really help pursue my baseball career as well as represent the Air Force as a whole."
Jax follows a handful of other players to reach the Majors after attending the three service academies that play Division 1 baseball.
On Aug. 12, 2017, another right-handed pitcher, Chris Rowley, made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays, becoming the first graduate of West Point to reach the big leagues in almost 100 years (outfielder Walt French played for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1923-29)
