ATLANTA -- Rob Thorman had a front-row seat last night.
Up on Cloud No. 9, he was ushered to his seat by an angel where all the good guys sit.
Surrounded by other fathers watching over their sons, he received the best Father's Day present of all last night.
He watched his son, Scott Thorman of Cambridge, step in at 8:22 against Curt Schilling of the Boston Red Sox at Turner Field for his first major-league at-bat.
The first pitch Thorman saw he fouled back.
The second pitch was a bill-of-the-helmet, high fastball. A swing and a miss.
And the next pitch was the same.
"I swung at two up in my eyeballs," Thorman said, "but I think I made up my mind Saturday -- when I got the call -- I was swinging," said Thorman after his Braves lost 10-7 to the Red Sox before 48,826 fans.
"As the game wore on, I settled down," he said, who Bobby Cox inserted into the No. 3 spot and played in left field. Normally a first baseman, Thorman made nine starts in the outfield, eight in left, at triple-A Richmond.
He grounded out to second moving Marcus Giles over in the two-run third, flied out to Red Sox star Manny Ramirez in the fifth and was robbed of his first hit by a diving Trot Nixon in right in the seventh. After Atlanta took a 5-3 lead, Thorman was replaced for defensive purposes.
The lead didn't last long as reliever Macay McBride struck out David Ortiz and Ramirez only to see the Braves bullpen collapse as the next nine batters reached base in Boston's six-run eighth.
Still, it was a wonderful Father's Day gift that the 24-year-old gave his late father Rob, who was watching down from above with his family who was in attendance.
The Thorman clan formed its own Cambridge rooting section: His mom Carol along sister Kelly and her two sons, Tyler and Jordan, made the 14-hour all-night drive; sister Julie flew in from Alberta where she was working on a business deal; his uncle Ross; Thorman's wife Kelly and her parents all made the trip.
"It's the neatest Father's Day present I could give my family," said Thorman, promoted after Brian Jordan was put on the disabled list with a bruised shoulder.
Rob Thorman died in 1994 from skin cancer at the unfair age 39, leaving Scott, 12, fatherless and without his favourite coach. The Braves selected Thorman in the first round of the 2000 June amateur draft.
Schilling is the best pitcher he has faced since? "Jose Contreras when he was pitching for Cuba, Team Canada played them in 2001 in Taiwan, he struck me out on four pitches."
Not many people were striking Thorman out at triple-A Richmond. He ranked among the International League leaders with a .324 average (second), 15 homers (second) and 44 RBIs (fourth).
Thorman heard from World Baseball Classic Team Canada coaches Larry Walker and Rob Ducey, extending congratulations on his promotion.
Thorman credits Rick Johnston for developing his hitting stroke and Remo Cardinale for his pitching abilities. Both the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins were going to take him in the second round.
Before those instructors, he found Ernie Whitt, who ran a summer baseball academy in the Toronto area.
Thorman, age 12, wrote a letter to the Toronto Sun to win a free week at the camp. It was from the heart and better than anything we'll ever write:
"Up until now, my dad coached me every year since t-ball. Sometimes this was hard. Now it is even harder. My father died of skin cancer April 23 (last week). I've been to a few practices since and it sure is different that he isn't there too.
"I know that he would want me to keep doing what I love to do, but I really miss him ... My dad can't coach me anymore, so I'll need help from somebody else who knows baseball."
