ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Cardinals’ newest player, Kramer Robertson, made his MLB debut during Tuesday night’s home game as a pinch-runner, and then his batting debut on Wednesday. He tributes his major league success to love and support from his parents.
“When you put on a jersey, it’s always something really special, and it meant so much to me and so many other people that I wouldn’t be here without them,” said Robertson during postgame interviews Tuesday.
Robertson comes from a legendary sports family. His mother, Kim Mulkey, is a national championship women’s basketball coach for the LSU Tigers. This week, she put her coaching on hold, to be a proud mom cheering for her son on the sidelines at Busch Stadium. Mulkey says she was there with her son since Day 1, spending hours batting balls in their driveway.
“He’s got pop in his bat beyond his size and has an unbelievable arm. So it doesn’t surprise me that he has been this successful,” said Mulkey.
Mulkey says Robertson called to tell her the news, and she almost didn’t believe him.
“So, I started asking questions to see if he was joking with me,and when he answered the questions, I thought ‘This kid is telling me the truth!’ So [I] got back to Baton Rouge and got [on] a charter,” said Mulkey.
Victoria Pasley’s son sang the national anthem at the game and wants to be a teacher when he grows up. “I told my son every day ‘I love you. You mean the world to me, and you can be anything that you want to be.’” said Pasley.
“I also wanted to make him understand we’re not going to gauge your career whether you make it to the majors or not. But it’s a dream come true for him to get on the field last night,” Mulkey said.
Mulkey says this is the perfect gift right after Mother’s Day and with her birthday being next week. She is just on cloud nine to be spending it with her son right in St. Louis.