Exeter grad Ben Malgeri promoted to Double-A Erie in Detroit Tigers organization
Ben Malgeri woke up Tuesday morning to the phone ringing in his hotel room in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
He glanced at his own phone and noticed he had two missed calls from Brayan Pena, his manager with the Western Michigan Whitecaps, the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.
“I rushed over to the phone to pick it up, I had a feeling I knew what was going on,” said Malgeri.
Malgeri, who was selected by Detroit in the 18th round of the 2021 Major League Baseball draft, was correct. He was being promoted to the Double-A Erie SeaWolves, two steps away from the major leagues.
“Usually when the manager is calling, something is going,” Malgeri said after a whirlwind day of travel to join the SeaWolves in Pennsylvania for the start of a six-game homestand against the Portland Sea Dogs.
His first phone call was to his parents.
“They were stoked, really excited for me,” Malgeri said. “They told me to take care of what I needed to take care of, pack up my stuff, and get ready to hit the road. I then talked to my girlfriend, my grandparents, and my brother.”
More: Exeter grads Morissette, Malgeri begin second full season of pro baseball
More: Exeter High School grad Cody Morissette promoted to Double-A Pensacola
How Malgeri earned promotion to Double-A
Malgeri, who batted .235 with four home runs and 45 RBIs over 373 plate appearances and 116 games with the Whitecaps last season, flew from Cedar Rapids to St. Paul, Minnesota, and then took a connecting flight to Cleveland before driving two hours to Erie.
“It was a great travel day,” said Malgeri, a Stratham resident who helped lead the Exeter High School baseball team to back-to-back Division I state championships in 2017 and 2018. “Just progressing toward the ultimate goal of my dream of playing in the big leagues. This is just one more step along the way, and I have to keep going.”
Malgeri was hitting .283 with three home runs and seven RBIs with the Whitecaps at the time of his promotion.
“I had a very good week and a half (to start the season),” Malgeri said. “Last week, wasn’t my best week, but it still wasn’t terrible by any means. I was kind of expecting this.”
Malgeri played all three outfield spots with the Whitecaps this season.
“I am going to do whatever I can to help the team out,” Malgeri said. “We’ll see what they want to put me. As long as I am out on the field, that’s all I really care about.”
'Surreal' to play against Portland Sea Dogs
Malgeri most likely will be in the SeaWolves' lineup soon, hopefully during the homestand against the Sea Dogs, a Boston Red Sox affiliate he rooted for as a kid “numerous times” sitting in the stands at Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine.
“I grew up a Red Sox fan, and playing my first game in Double-A against the team that I used to go their games and cheer for is pretty surreal,” Malgeri said. “I am looking forward to it.”
Malgeri’s promotion to Double-A came one day after Cody Morissette, his high school teammate, was promoted to Double-A with the Miami Marlins organization.
“I think it’s pretty cool so far with the parallels that Cody and I have had in pro ball,” Malgeri said. “Our very first year we played each other in Low-A, and last year we played each other in High-A a couple of times. Now getting called up to Double-A essentially on the same day. I think it’s kind of crazy that two two kids from New Hampshire, which doesn’t happen often to begin with, have had a similar journey so far. I think it’s pretty cool.”
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Detroit Tigers promote Exeter grad Malgeri to Double-A Erie SeaWolves
