On the verge of big leagues, Gig Harbor’s Toglia enjoying homecoming in Tacoma

Michael Toglia seems to like playing in Tacoma’s Cheney Stadium. When he played for Gig Harbor High School in 2016, he hit a home run over the right field fence in a game against South Kitsap.

Fast forward to Tuesday afternoon: Toglia was back at Cheney Stadium, this time as a professional, playing for the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.

In front of dozens of friends, family members and neighbors who came to watch him play in the opening game of the six-game series, Toglia hit a three-run home run in his very first at-bat, on a day that also happened to be his 24th birthday. How’s that for a homecoming?

“That was pretty storybook,” Toglia said. “That was cool how it worked out like that. Literally my first at-bat … Everyone was there. I’m glad that happened. … That game I hit a home run (in high school), I think in the exact same spot. Literally think I hit the same hedge.”

Baseball players often like to trot out the cliche that they approach every at-bat the same, just trying to make solid contact. Maybe that’s true for some players, but Toglia admitted he was hoping to give his fan section something to cheer about.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t trying to do a little bit more,” said Toglia, cracking a smile. “I thought it’d be really cool to do something special in front of all these people at my home stadium.”

The first baseman was called up from Double-A Hartford (Connecticut) shortly before Albuquerque’s road trip to Tacoma. He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft with the No. 23 pick, after a successful collegiate career at UCLA.

Toglia has felt the love from friends and family during the series in Tacoma.

“The first day was a ton of friends and family,” he said. “(Wednesday) was the Gig Harbor reunion. We had about half of my senior class there. It was pretty nice having everyone there. It’s great to see the people that are still connected to my story and my career, that they still care about how I’m doing, the minor leagues. It’s not the big leagues, they don’t have any reason to have to follow me, yet they choose to. They drove down from Seattle, half of them. It means a lot to me.”

Toglia has been able to spend a bit of time at home with family in between games. He played a round of golf the other day at Madrona Links in Gig Harbor, his hometown course.

“Honestly, the best I’ve shot in a long time,” Toglia said, laughing. “Taking a break was the best thing for my golf swing.”

He’s been giving his fans a show, too. In the first three games of the series, Toglia has already racked up seven hits, two of them home runs. He’s worked his way up the ladder, from Short A through Triple-A, now one step away from the big leagues.

“It showed me what it takes to be a consistent big-leaguer,” Toglia said of his minor league baseball journey. “Going into the minors, I knew I had the physicality and the ability to be in the big leagues. I just had to figure out how to be more consistent. The different leagues I’ve gone to have exposed me in different ways.”

In the Double-A Eastern League, Toglia said he became a better hitter.

“That league is like the big leagues in the minors,” he said. “There’s some big-league level pitching, you have to be able to perform there. There was definitely another learning curve for me there. I had to learn how to lay off changeups away, and just how to be more of a professional hitter. It took time but I feel like I came out of it a much better hitter than I was before.”

If Toglia keeps hitting like he has been in Tacoma, a call up from Colorado might come sooner than later.

“It’s right there dangling in front of your face,” Toglia said. “But at the same time, you’ve still gotta take care of your work right here, because that’s the only way you’re going to get to that shining light at the end of the tunnel. I shouldn’t say the end of the tunnel, because the goal is to stay up there. Staying up there is the hardest part. … It’s still a really long road ahead. There’s definitely a sense of accomplishment getting there, and that’s really exciting knowing it’s that close.”