Dad, grandpa never made it to MLB. Now Isaac Galloway gets his regular shot for Marlins

Isaac Galloway IV tried not to let his family’s history in baseball weigh on him when he finally got the call to the Miami Marlins last year. Now seven months removed from his first taste of the highest level of the sport, Galloway still just talks about process when he thinks back to when he got the call. He always stuck to his process while he was toiling for a decade in the minors, so why let too much emotion seep in now that he was finally getting his Major League shot? He could let his family take care of that part.

Isaac Galloway II, Galloway’s grandfather, played one season in the minors in 1960. Isaac Galloway III, Galloway’s father, played two seasons in the Philadelphia Phillies system as a teenager in the late 1980s. Galloway finally getting his shot was important to them.

“I think it was bigger for my family. For me as a baseball player, it’s always just baseball and trying to get to the big leagues,” Galloway said Wednesday. “They were super happy for me. It was good to see them so happy.”

After a cup of coffee in 2018, Galloway won’t even let himself get too excited about his newest opportunity: He is now effectively a fixture on the Marlins’ MLB roster. Galloway has already started nine times this season and should Miami’s fixture in center field for the foreseeable future after the Marlins (9-21) optioned fellow outfielder Lewis Brinson, their Opening Day center fielder, to Triple A New Orleans on Tuesday.

There will still be spots where Miami turns to someone else in center — switch-hitting utility player Rosell Herrera started there Wednesday against right-handed starting pitcher Corey Kluber — but for its upcoming three-game series against the Atlanta Braves, which begins Friday at 7:10 p.m. at Marlins Park, and almost every other game until the organization feels Brinson is ready to return to the majors, Galloway should finally get his chance.

“I’d say he’d be the main guy in center field. We have some guys to be able to spell him,” manager Don Mattingly said Tuesday in Miami, “but for the most part, I’d say that’s fair. For the most part, we’re probably seeing more Ike for now.”

By now, Galloway’s story is well documented. The speedy, defense-first righty spent more than 10 years as a minor-leaguer in the Marlins organization before getting called up to play 43 games last season. In those games, Galloway was used mostly as a defensive replacement — he started only 13 times and averaged fewer than two plate appearances per game. In 10 of his 43 appearances, Galloway didn’t go to the plate at all.

Now a 29-year-old rookie, Galloway has a new role. Galloway has made 12 appearances since rejoining the Marlins last month and started in 11 of those games. Although he’s batting just .211 with only one extra-base hit in 38 at-bats, Galloway’s presence in center gives Miami defensive stability and a willing runner on the basepaths. Galloway already has two steals this season with an average sprint speed of 30.1 feet per second is the fourth fastest in baseball. In his season debut last month, he made one of the defensive plays of Miami’s season, making a perfect throw from right field to third base to gun down a Chicago Cub.

“It’s kind of been my thing and something I’ve always took pride in,” Galloway said.

Galloway already feels like he’s playing better than he was during his brief stint in 2018, even if the results aren’t substantially different yet. In his small sample size, Galloway is striking out more than 10 percent left often and making hard contact 25 percent of the time he hits the ball.

Most importantly, Galloway understands what MLB life is like, which means the Marlins can entrust him as an everyday starter at one of the most important defensive positions on the field.

“It’s just the confidence that I can play here. I think last year my first experience was kind of a lot of everything and I think this time just knowing that I have the confidence to play here is going to help,” Galloway said. “It’s helped me play a little bit better and not be so starstruck.”

Finally getting a taste of the bigs was maybe the biggest step for Galloway, but getting a shot as a regular starter is an important step, too.

Maybe his next one can be getting a more standard jersey number. Or maybe not. He’s starting to sort of like No. 79.

“I get a lot of crap from fans. They say I’m a lineman,” Galloway said. “It’s kind of grown on me.”

This story was originally published May 2, 2019 at 1:46 PM.