Jaden Agassi had a debut to forget at the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers (Image: Getty)
Jaden Agassi made a disappointing debut at the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers on Monday. The son of tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf
But things didn’t go to plan. With his high-profile parents in the crowd, the pitcher struggled during his team’s 9-7 loss to Brazil. Agassi came into the game in the fourth inning, facing Lucas Ramirez, son of former Red Sox star Manny.
The 23-year-old surrendered a single base to Ramires and allowed four earned runs, three hits, and two walks in 0.2 innings before he was yanked by Germany’s coaching staff.
His mum, 22-time Major winner Graf, watched on from the stands while Andre Agassi sat inside, watching through the glass.
The younger Agassi grew up in Las Vegas but holds dual citizenship through Graf and speaks some German, which allows him to represent his mother’s nation in baseball.
Germany’s manager, Jendrick Speer, stumbled across Agassi on social media while he was still searching for new names for the roster.
Steffi Graf watched from the stands as her son made his debut (Image: Getty)
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The pitcher will be hoping he gets another chance to prove himself against Columbia on Tuesday.
A former USC player, Agassi suffered a dip in college but improved in the MLB’s Draft League last summer, finishing the season with a 2.96 ERA.
While his parents have 30 Grand Slam titles between them and have been ranked at the top of tennis, the 23-year-old hopes to make Agassi a baseball name.
Ahead of his World Baseball Classic Qualifiers debut, Agassi told the : “I’m so excited [to play for Germany].
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little boy to compete on an international scale. [I want to] make my mum proud, make Germany proud and do them right.”
Explaining why he didn’t go down the same sporting path as his parents, the Nevada native added: “I started playing baseball when I was six years old in T-ball. I loved it.
“I’ve picked up a tennis racket a good amount, but it was always hard for me to keep that ball in between the lines. I just wanted to hit that thing as far as I could. Baseball had my love since day one.”
The 23-year-old has also made it clear that his parents never pushed him into any sports after their own teenage years were taken up by tennis.