Former Thunder Bay Border Cats third baseman Matt Mangini can call himself a Major Leaguer.
Mangini went 1-for-4 on Thursday in his Seattle Mariners debut, a 1-0 loss to the host Toronto Blue Jays, a day after getting the call from the big-league club. He's the first former Border Cat to make the Major Leagues since the team debuted in 2003.
His first hit, a single to centre, came on a ninth-inning, 1-2 count off Blue Jays reliever Kevin Gregg. He was then lifted for a pinch runner.
The infielder, who was the designated hitter for the Mariners on Thursday afternoon, spent the 2005 season with the Border Cats, winning a Northwoods League championship, the first of two the club has won in eight seasons. That summer he played 52 games for the Cats, hitting .342 with six homeruns and 45 RBI.
He was the 52nd overall pick of the Mariners in the 2007 draft.
Mangini, 24, hit .313 with 18 homeruns and 63 RBI playing for the minor league champion Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League in 2010.
He hit .323 with six RBI in the PCL playoffs.
He became the 75th former Northwoods League player to make the jump to the Majors.
