“Game Of His Life” tells the story of Pittsburgh athletes who may not have had the most illustrious, Hall of Fame level careers, but had one absolutely amazing game. In today’s edition, Gift Ngoepe.

Mpho’ Gift Ngoepe didn’t have a lengthy career in the major leagues. Appearing in just 41 games and recording just 82 plate appearances, Ngoepe had brief stints in Pittsburgh and Toronto before calling it a career.

But he forever holds a piece of baseball history. Born in South Africa, Ngoepe was the first ever African-born player to suit up in Major League Baseball, breaking into the league at 27 years old.

Ngoepe became just the sixth-ever South African player to sign a professional MLB contract when the Pirates signed him in the fall of 2008. A pioneer of baseball from South Africa, a teenaged Ngoepe helped lead his country to an appearance in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Though the South Africans were dismissed in two games, the tournament helped put Ngoepe’s name on the map. Skilled with the glove, he spent years working through the minor league system stateside, finally getting the chance to play in the major leagues in 2017.

The Backstory

Ngoepe did not start the year on the major league roster. The infielder started the 2017 season in Triple-A, where he had spent all of the prior year.

He struggled to make an impact with the Indianapolis Indians 2016. He slashed .217/.289/.355 (.644 OPS) with eight home runs and 27 RBI in 102 games. He was one K shy of the team lead, striking out 130 times, but going down on strikes at a far higher rate than any of the other Indianapolis regulars.

In 2017, however, he got off to a pretty hot start. In 18 games before his promotion, Ngoepe slashed .273/.364/.424 (.788 OPS) with a homer and five RBI. His versatility in the infield also made him an appealing choice when the Pirates needed to make a move.

Ironically, the move to promote Ngoepe saw him swap places with right-handed reliever Dovydas Neverauskas, who just days prior made history as the first player from Lithuania to play in MLB.

Ngoepe made his MLB debut on April 26th, posting a hit and a walk in a 6-5 win over the Chicago Cubs. Two days later on April 28th, 2017, Ngoepe would star in an amazing offensive output.

The Pirates, meanwhile, were trying to get back above the .500 watermark. The win against the Cubs salvaged a 3-3 homestand before the team had to get back on the road.

The Game

Two days after making his major league debut, Ngoepe was in the lineup for his first start with the Pirates, slotting in at second base as his team opened up a three-game series in Miami.

The matchup on the mound featured Pittsburgh righty Jameson Taillon vs Miami left-hander Adam Conley. Ngoepe batted eighth, right in front of Taillon and tasked with giving the lower third of the batting order some support.

Jordy Mercer gave the Pirates an early lead, smacking a home run deep to left-center field off Conley in the first inning for a 1-0 advantage. Though the other three batters of the inning flied out, all four Bucs made contact well into the outfield.

Taillon faced the minimum in the bottom half, quickly getting the Pirates back to the plate for an incredible second inning. A single by Francisco Cervelli and a walk drawn by Jose Osuna set up Ngoepe at the plate with two on and one out.

Ngoepe was able to work a walk as well, taking first and loading the bases for Taillon to come up. He struck out. But with two outs, leadoff hitter Josh Harrison singled to move everyone up 90 feet. Conley then walked Mercer, pushing Ngoepe over to third before an Andrew McCutchen single brought him and Harrison home for the former’s first run scored in the major leagues.

After Conley plunked a batter, his left fielder (and current Pirate) Marcell Ozuna misplayed a ball in left field to clear the bases and give Cervelli a triple. That play chased Conley from the game. Miami, forced to call upon their bullpen in the second inning, brought in righty José Ureña facing an 8-0 deficit.

Ureña immediately allowed a line drive single to center field, extending the lead to nine. He walked Josh Bell as well, putting two on by the time Ngoepe was up to bat for the second time this inning. Ngoepe was able to play small ball, notching an infield single Ureña’s way and racing down the first base line. He was originally called out, but upon a challenge from manager Clint Hurdle, Ngoepe was safe, resulting in bases loaded.

For the second time this inning, Ngoepe had set up the pitcher Taillon with a bases loaded situation. And for the second time, Taillon recorded an out. Ah, the world of National League baseball before the designated hitter.

In the bottom half of the inning, Ngoepe twice assisted on groundball outs to first.

Miami was able to retrieve one run in the third, powered by an Adeiny Hechavarría triple, but Taillon was able to hold the Marlins to one. With Ureña still on the mound, the Pirates started the fourth inning with back-to-back singles, giving Ngoepe his third straight plate appearance was two men on.

This time, he delivered a single to left field to bring hime Osuna, recording his first RBI in the big leagues. Though he would be stranded at third base, his hit extended Pittsburgh’s lead to 10-1.

Two innings later, Ngoepe had the opportunity to put both his speed and power on display. Up to bat with no one on this time, Ngoepe drilled one towards the right field wall, missing a home run by feet as he charged around the bases.

Leaving his helmet behind at second, he hustled all the way to third for a triple, sliding into the hot corner with time to spare.

With Taillon done after five innings of one-run ball, Hurdle sent Alen Hanson in to pinch hit for him. Following in Ngoepe’s footsteps, Hanson also tripled to nearly the exact same spot, easily scoring the team’s 11th run of the game.

Hanson was also brought in to put the Marlins in an insurmountable ten-run deficit after six innings. That inning also marked the end of Ureña’s day. In 4.1 innings in relief, Ureña had done the improbable, allowing 12 hits but only surrendering two runs.

Hanson stayed in the game to play second, pushing Ngoepe over to shortstop for the remainder of the night.

Ngoepe got one more plate appearance in the eighth inning, facing right-hander Kyle Barraclough. After Barraclough allowed a single to Osuna, Ngoepe was Barraclough’s second walk in a row, loading the bases with no one out. Even though the Pirates only got one run out of that, they still extended their lead even further to 12-1.

Pirate reliever Wade LeBlanc surrendered one run in the eighth, but Pittsburgh would cruise on to a 12-2 win over the Marlins.

“The team played well today,” Ngoepe added. “We all contributed in every single way, and guys came up with clutch hits.”

Ngoepe finished the game 3-for-3 with a triple, two runs scored, and two walks. Despite the particularly strong performance at the plate, Ngoepe said he was more focused on getting quality reps than the direct result of said reps.

“It’s all about the quality ABs more than the results,” Ngoepe said after the game. “Results are a plus for me.”

Ngoepe’s triple, combined with Cervelli’s and Hanson’s, marked the first time in three and a half years the Pirates recorded three triples in a game. Defensively, he was 4-for-4 in putouts, three from second base and a fourth from shortstop.

The Aftermath

Ngoepe would go on to play 26 more games for the Pirates in 2017. Obviously, the .800 batting average and 2.075 OPS he was sporting after his first two games wasn’t sustainable, but unfortunately for Ngoepe, he struggled to show consistency at the plate.

He slashed .163/.241/.204 (.445 OPS) following this game, recording five RBI the rest of the way. Strikeouts, as they were during some of his time in the minor leagues, were an issue for Ngoepe. He struck out 25 times in this stretch and ended his Pirates tenure with a 41.3% K rate.

He was optioned back to Triple-A Indianapolis on June 2nd, where he spent the rest of the season helping the Indians finish first in the International League’s West Division and securing a spot in the semifinals.

In the offseason, Ngoepe was traded to Toronto in exchange for cash considerations. After a strong spring training, he made the Blue Jays Opening Day roster, but didn’t last in the bigs for long. He went 1-for-18 in 13 games for the Jays, striking out 12 times before he was designated for assignment in early May.

He spent three and a half months with their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, but after underwhelming numbers, was released in August of 2018.

Weeks later, he signed with the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League for the 2018-19 season. Playing in 35 of 40 games in the ABL season, Ngoepe batted nearly .400 with an OPS north of 1.100. He was also named the team’s defensive player of the year.

Interestingly in Sydney, Ngoepe was briefly teammates with a 15-year-old Travis Bazzana, the first overall pick in MLB back in 2024.

After Sydney, Ngoepe made several quick stops across three different countries. He signed minor league deals with both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh again in 2019, took up work with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

Later that year, he signed back in Sydney for a reunion, and moved over to Melbourne for a championship 2020-21 season. He came back to North America to sign with the Québec Capitales of the Frontier League before ultimately retiring in 2023.

He has since embarked on a coaching career with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He has since moved up from the Arizona Complex League all the way up to High-A.