{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-572d6a42.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-f4d0de30.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='1st African-Born Player In MLB' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54d471d8eafeecae1f2a22' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54d471d8eafeecae1f2a22' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\n1st African-Born Player In MLB\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eRESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYPhoenix, Arizona – 11 May 20171. Various of Gift Ngoepe during warm ups2. SOUNDBITE (English) Gift Ngoepe, First African-born Major...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eRESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYPhoenix, Arizona – 11 May 20171. Various of Gift Ngoepe during warm ups2. SOUNDBITE (English) Gift Ngoepe, First African-born Major League Baseball Player:\"It blows my mind being here right now, enjoying the big league platform. I mean, I come from a very small 5 by 7 room where I lived with my mom and my brother.\"ASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYJohannesburg, South Africa – 6 May 20173. Various of the people playing softball at the Randburg Mets field in the Randburg section of Johannesburg, South Africa4. Wide of the club house of the Randburg field, where Ngoepe lived growing up5. Tight of club houseASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYJohannesburg, South Africa – 9 May 20176. Picture of Ngoepe's motherASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYJohannesburg, South Africa – 6 May 20177. People playing softball at the Randburg Mets field ASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYPhoenix, Arizona – 11 May 20178. SOUNDBITE (English) Gift Ngoepe, First African-born Major League Baseball Player:\"I rolled out of bed and I was on first base. My playground wasn't a normal size playground for a little kid in my backyard so I had all this space and I could do whatever I wanted and my baseball field was my playground.\"ASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYJohannesburg, South Africa – 9 May 20179 .  Various Chris Ngoepe, Gift's older brother10. SOUNBITE (English) Chris Ngoepe, Gift Ngoepe's Older Brother:  \"My mom encouraged him that \"You can't just give up now. You have been there, just be yourself and then you'll end up being playing in the majors.\"ASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYPhoenix, Arizona – 11 May 201711. Gift swinging batASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYPittsburgh, Pennsylvania – 26 April 201712. Still of Ngoepe getting first MLB hit13. Still Ngoepe getting hug after hitASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYPhoenix, Arizona – 11 May 201714. SOUNDBITE (English) Gift Ngoepe, First African-born Major League Baseball Player:\"Bittersweet, yeah. Sweet part is I got a base hit on my first AB, the bitter part is my mom not being around to enjoy this moment with me.\"ASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYJohannesburg, South Africa – 9 May 201715 . Picture of Ngoepe's motherASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYPhoenix, Arizona – 11 May 201716. Gift during warmupsASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYJohannesburg, South Africa – 6 May 201717. People playing softball at the Randburg Mets field ASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLYPhoenix, Arizona – 11 May 201718. Gift during warmupsSTORYLINE:ON THE FIELD GIFT NGOEPE IS JUST ONE OF THE GUYS. BUT THE ROOKIE PIRATES' JOURNEY TO THE MAJOR LEAGUES MAKES HIM ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY. NGOEPE IS THE FIRST AFRICAN-BORN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER. \"Yeah, it blows my mind being here right now, enjoying the big league platform. I mean, I come from a very small 5 by 7 room where I lived with my mom and my brother.\" - Gift Ngoepe, Pirates Shortstop.NGOEPE GREW UP IN JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, AND IT'S NOT AN EXAGGERATION TO SAY HE LIVED AT THE BASEBALL DIAMOND.  NGOEPE'S MOTHER RAISED HIM AND HIS BROTHERS IN A 5X7 ROOM IN THE CLUB HOUSE OF THE LOCAL BASEBALL TEAM.SHE COOKED AND CLEANED FOR THE TEAM AND IN EXCHANGE SHE WAS ABLE TO PUT A ROOF OVER HER BOYS HEADS.\"I rolled out of bed and I was on first base. My playground wasn't a normal size playground for a little kid in my backyard so I had all this space and I could do whatever I wanted and my baseball field was my playground.\" - Gift Ngoepe, Pirates Shortstop.NGOEPE'S BROTHER STILL LIVES IN THE ROOM WHERE THEY BOTH GREW UP. HE SAYS IT WAS THEIR MOTHER WHO GAVE GIFT THE BELIEF THAT DESPITE YEARS IN SMALL INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENTS AND EVENTUALLY IN THE MINOR LEAGUES HE WAS GOING TO MAKE IT.\"My mom encouraged him that \"You can't just give up now. You have been there, just be yourself and you'll end up being playing in the majors.\" - Chris Ngoepe, Gift Ngoepe's older brotherNGOEPE'S IMPROBABLE JOURNEY CULMINATED IN APRIL, WHERE IN HIS FIRST AT BAT IN THE MAJORS, HE SINGLED TO CENTER FIELD. IT WAS A POIGNANT MOMENT. \"I came up to bat and I saw it go into the outfield and it was just like all this weight, this pressure just fell off and I was like, OK, I'm good, so bittersweet, yeah. Sweet part is I got a base hit on my first AB, the bitter part is my mom not being around to enjoy this moment with me.\" – Gift Ngoepe, Pirates Shortstop. HIS MOTHER DIED IN 2013, BUT HER LESSONS OF PERSEVERANCE STILL GIVES HIM STRENGTH. A STRENGTH THAT LED HIM FROM A FIELD IN SOUTH AFRICA, TO NOW PLAYING OUT HIS DREAMS IN STADIUMS. 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