Cam Gallagher’s mom shed a tear when he made big-league debut at the K

Royals catcher Cam Gallagher took a long road to the majors, but he made it on Sunday.

Gallagher, 24, was a second-round pick of the Royals in the 2011 draft, and the first two seasons of his professional career were in rookie ball. He was at Class A Lexington in 2013, then spent the next two seasons at Class A-advanced Wilmington.

In 2016, Gallagher was promoted to Class AA Northwest Arkansas, and after the season was added to the Royals’ 40-man roster. This season, he was at Class AAA Omaha before being called to the Royals on Sunday.

It was a steady climb to the big leagues, but one that Gallagher probably would have wished was shorter in duration.

But none of that mattered when Gallagher took over for Drew Butera in the opener of Sunday’s doubleheader against Seattle. Butera had been lifted for a pinch hitter in the eighth inning and Gallagher made his major-league debut in the top of the ninth inning of the Royals’ 8-7 loss.

In the stands at Kauffman Stadium, Gallagher’s mom, Gwen, wiped away a tear as she watched her son take the field.

(Gwen Gallagher later told The Star's Maria Torres: "It was allergies." However, not even Gwen Gallagher believed that)

Fox Sports Kansas City shared this video of the moment:

This story was originally published August 6, 2017 at 5:24 PM.