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MIAMI -- Matt Dominguez was hanging around his locker in the clubhouse on Wednesday afternoon when third-base coach Joe Espada insisted he check the lineup card.Moments later, Dominguez returned with his face flushed, a smile forming, after seeing his name written seventh in the batting order.The 22-year-old, called up from Triple-A New Orleans on Tuesday, made his Major League debut during a pin free football games ch-hit appearance in that night's game. Mets reliever Pedro Beato plunked him with a 1-2 pitch."It's pretty exciting to get that first start in the big leagues," Dominguez said. "I got that first at-bat last night -- I was pretty nervous -- but I'll probably be a little more nervous to actually be in the game today."Dominguez's parents had booked a flight from California as soon as he found out ab free football games out his callup on Monday, but he was too preoccupied to look for them in the stands as he stood in the on-deck circle before Tuesday's 10th-inning at-bat."I was too nervous," he said. "I think it's good to get that first one out of the way, and I guarantee I'll be nervous for quite a while, but there's nothing quite like that first one."For the Marlins' top prospect as ranked by MLB.com, it's been free football games quite the journey to the Majors.The native of Chatsworth, Calif., remembers playing baseball in the backyard with his two older brothers, and his father would hit him grounders."As a kid, I always loved just having a baseball and bat in my hand," he said. "I just always loved playing. Growing up, my brothers played, so I played, and in high school, I was pretty good and thought I could take it to free football games another level. It just kind of went from there."During his junior year of high school, Dominguez realized that he was good enough to play in college. By his senior year, scouts had begun showing up at his games.The Marlins selected Dominguez with the 12th overall pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft when he was just 17.But even though he was drafted so high, he didn't feel he had to live up t free football games o expectations."You go and play in the middle of nowhere, and there aren't a lot of fans around, so it's really not too much pressure," he said. "You just go out and play."Fast forward a few years to this past Spring Training, when Dominguez went to camp as the organization's first choice to win the starting job at the hot corner.He started quickly, batting .308 in his first 13 at-bats, including free football games a homer in his first Grapefruit League plate appearance. Over his next 23 at-bats, however, his average dipped to .194, and he was reassigned to Minor League camp in late March.It was the first of several setbacks this year.Within a week, his elbow was fractured by a pitch during an exhibition game, an injury that kept him out of action until May 10.Dominguez knew when he returned that his timing free football games would be off as he got back into the flow of seeing pitches. He eventually found a groove, and hit two homers in four games during one stretch, but on Aug. 10 he was placed on the seven-day disabled list with a right hamstring strain."[The injuries] set me back a little bit," Dominguez said. "Mentally, it was a little tough sitting out that long, just rehabbing, going to the field every day and no free football games t being able to play."Manager Jack McKeon, who wanted to ease Dominguez into games, remembers first watching the 6-foot-1, 205-pounder in Greensboro, N.C.As the Padres' general manager in the 1980s, McKeon would tell his personnel that he'd rather be surprised than disappointed with young players."I thought [Dominguez would] get here quick, and I guess he got a setback with some kind of ailment [t free football games hat] kept him out half a year," McKeon said. "But he's like every other kid, like [Logan] Morrison and [Mike] Stanton: These guys need experience. Play 'x' amount of games. Not necessarily every guy jumps to the big leagues their first or second year. They need time to develop. When you come up, you come up to stay."When Florida's season ends, Dominguez will head to the Arizona Fall League with ot free football games her top prospects, including Bryce Harper and Drew Pomeranz. Because he missed so much time due to injury, the organization wants him to get at-bats."You learn how to deal with some failure, and that makes you a little bit stronger," Dominguez said. "I've struggled quite a bit in my Minor League career, and I think that's really helped me to stay mentally tough and get through things and work thro free football games ugh it. Baseball's a game of failure as a hitter. You've got to learn to deal with it, so definitely going through those steps and learning that has helped me."Dominguez picked up his first Major League hit on Wednesday with a single up the middle off R.A. Dickey in the second inning of Wednesday's game against the Mets."It's a dream come true, and it's been a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Domin free football games guez said. "Of course I would have liked to make the team out of Spring Training, but it didn't work out. I learned a lot of things, and I'll learn a lot of things here in September, and hopefully I get another shot next year." free football games
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