The end of a long road: Max St. Pierre gets his first major league start

Max St. Pierre is going to be the happiest man in baseball today, no matter what the result.

After 14 seasons in the minors, he's making his first major league appearance, first start and will get his first big league at bat against the Royals tonight. St. Pierre didn't know he was getting the start at catcher until he arrived in the Tigers' clubhouse, and saw Jim Leyland's lineup card.

Via Mlive's Steve Kornacki:

"Nobody told me," St. Pierre said. "I just looked at the lineup and I was in there. "I’m really happy, really excited. I’m just going to take it a minute at a time.

"You know, I feel like I am about to play my first baseball game ever."

There's a legitimate reason the right hand hitting St. Pierre is getting the start, as Gerald Laird is suffering from back stiffness, and the Royals are starting a lefty, Bruce Chen.

Makes no difference to me. Personally, I can't wait to see St. Pierre take the field. 

I hope all Tigers fans (and for that matter, baseball fans in general) feel the same way.