James Outman enjoys whirlwind debut with Dodgers

A native of San Carlos and former two-sport athlete at Serra, Outman spent five days in the big leagues on his first tour of duty, batting safely in his first three games, including five hits in his first six at-bats. Through 13 at-bats with the Dodgers, the left-handed hitting outfielder owns a .462 batting average.

“I want to try and get back,” Outman said. “I want to play as good of baseball as a I can to get back there because having a little taste of it makes me want it even more.”

Adding to the surreal element of the whirlwind tour, four of Outman’s five days in the bigs were spent playing against his hometown San Francisco Giants at the same yard of Oracle Park he grew up going to as a kid.

It was a wild series that saw the Dodgers sweep four games from the Giants. It spawned another chapter of the trademark animosity between the rival clubs when Giants reliever Jarlin Garcia got into a jawing match with red-hot Dodgers slugger Mookie Betts. But the series had already taken a serious turn when legendary voice of the Dodgers, Vin Scully, died Aug. 2.

These were the events prevalent to the Dodgers dugout through Outman’s first few days as a Major League Baseball player, playing for a team sitting in first place in the National League West Division with the best record in baseball.

“Honestly, that dugout is like very, very competitive,” Outman said. “Just look at everyone there, Mookie I think being the spearhead of that competitive spirit. They expect to win every day and they expect to dominate every day. And being at the rival stadium, that’s going to make that competitive spirit come out even more.”

It certainly helped Outman acclimate to the competitive dugout that he came out swinging. His July 31 callup turned into a date with destiny as he became the sixth player in franchise history, and the fourth player of the Los Angeles Dodgers era, to homer in his first major league at-bat.

Stepping to the plate at Coors Field in the top of the third inning with Cody Bellinger on first base, Outman had a simple mantra running through his head in an effort to keep his swing relaxed.

“To be honest, I had so much adrenaline going, I just kept telling myself to relax and just be smooth to the baseball,” Outman said. “I knew the rest would take care of itself if I could just be smooth at the plate.”

Adrenaline got the best of him in the first pitch of the at-bat, as he swung through a hard sinker toward the bottom of the zone. Outman collected himself and took the next pitch for a ball, setting the stage for his epic swing to follow.

“Adrenaline is a monster,” Outman said. “And if you can tame it a little bit, you can really use it to your advantage. So, that’s kind of what I was telling myself.”

Outman connected with a 95-mph sinker and sent it high into the Denver night. He knew he squared it up but wasn’t sure it would get over the wall. And seeing as it was his first time playing at Coors Field, he wasn’t exactly comfortable with his perspective in judging the path of the ball as it sailed into right-center field.

That’s when he saw Bellinger thrust a hand in the air as the ball cleared the wall.

“I didn’t know it was gone until I saw Belli put his hands up and knew it was gone,” Outman said.

Outman was greeted by Bellinger at the plate, and distinctly remembers Dodgers manager Dave Roberts with his hands up at the edge of the dugout for a welcoming high-five. Back in the dugout, Dodgers infielder Justin Turner congratulated him on the quick home run, recalling how it took him forever to get his first one.

“I’m glad I got it out of the way,” Outman said.

Outman went on to post a 3-for-4 batting line with a home run and three RBIs in his debut. Then — Surprise! — Outman was headed home to San Francisco for a four-game series with the Giants. This indeed came as a surprise to him, as he wasn’t exactly keeping up with the Dodgers’ schedule during his Triple-A tour with Oklahoma City.

It wasn’t until he called his parents with the good news he was being called up to the major leagues that he learned he’d soon be on his way to play in San Francisco.

“I kind of never looked at their schedule, to be honest,” Outman said. “I don’t even know who we’re playing next week to be honest.”

Outman would go on to earn interviews with Dodgers on-field broadcaster Kirsten Watson on back-to-back nights — after his debut in Colorado, and again following his 2-for-2 performance in the first game of the San Francisco series.

And while Outman never met Vin Scully, it was on the field the Dodgers’ second night iin San Francisco where Outman and his teammates learned of the 94-year-old legend’s passing via Giants public address announcer Renel Brooks-Moon, who delivered the news of his death to the crowd at Oracle Park.

“I feel like he has been around for a lot of those guys’ careers,” Outman said. “JT has been a Dodger forever, Kersh has been a Dodger forever. He was a critical part of a lot of those guys’ careers, and he’s been synonymous with Dodger baseball until he retired, and then he was always talked about. I never got to meet him personally, but I definitely know what he meant to the Dodgers.”