How Kansas City Royals reliever Colin Selby made history in his KC debut

Colin Selby made Kansas City Royals history before he threw his first pitch. In the ninth inning, Selby became the 1,000th different Royals player to appear in a game.

Selby, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier this season, threw nine pitches in his Royals debut. He registered three quick outs as the Royals defeated the Texas Rangers 7-1 on Friday night.

“It’s cool to be a part of history,” Selby said. “But I think it was even better to pitch in front of that stadium and get my feet wet with this team. I had a lot of fun.”

The Royals recalled Selby from Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday. He made his Major League Baseball debut with the Pirates last season.

“That’s a pretty cool milestone for the organization and for him,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “I was more pleased that it was a nice clean inning. He threw a bunch of strikes and his stuff looked good.”

KC became the 23rd active franchise to have 1,000 different players appear in a game, per Elias Sports Bureau.

Wally Bunker is credited as the first Royals player ever, according to a club representative. He threw the first pitch in Royals history.

It was also a good night for Royals relievers. In the seventh inning, Royals setup man John Schreiber escaped a bases-loaded jam. He struck out Rangers star Marcus Semien to end a potential scoring threat.

Schreiber roared and threw a fist pump in the air. The Royals fed off his energy as they scored six unanswered runs late.

Selby was excited to watch the inning play out. He loved the energy from his new teammates during the clutch moments.

“He’s a bulldog and he competes,” Selby said of Schreiber. “From the short time I’ve been here, a lot of these guys in the bullpen are determined and they get the things done that they need to do. I’m thankful to be a part of this whole thing.”

The Royals improved to 20-13. KC won its 13th game at Kauffman Stadium in the process.