*On this date in 2017, Gift Ngoepe of the Pittsburgh Pirates, promoted to the major leagues from Indianapolis, became the first Black African-born player to play in a Major League game.
That day, in his major league at-bat, he had his first major league hit, a single off Chicago Cubs' starting pitcher Jon Lester. Gift Ngoepe was born on born in 1990. Mpho' Gift Ngoepe was born in Randburg, South Africa; growing up, Ngoepe's mother was a clubhouse attendant for the Randburg Mets, and they lived in one of the clubhouse rooms. He was invited to Major League Baseball's academy in Tirrenia, Italy, where the Pirates signed him. When he signed in October 2008, he became the first Black South African and the sixth South African to sign a professional baseball contract.
In 2009, Ngoepe played for the Gulf Coast League Pirates and was also a member of the South Africa national baseball team at the 2009 World Baseball Classic. At the WBC, he hit consecutive triples off of Mexico's Elmer Dessens. In 2009, Sports Illustrated published an article on Ngoepe titled "A Gift From Africa." In 2010, he played 64 games with the Short Season-A State College Spikes and 2 with the Advanced-A Bradenton Marauders.
Ngoepe played only 27 games in 2011 due to an injury. He played the entire 2012 season with Bradenton in a career-high 124 games. He would also play 16 games for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League. In 2013, he again began the season with Bradenton, playing 28 games and batting .292 before being promoted to the Double-A Altoona Curve, where he played 72 games. In Altoona, Ngeope hit .177 with three home runs and 16 RBI. He made his second trip to the Arizona Fall League at the end of the season, playing 17 games for Scottsdale.
In 2014, Ngeope set career highs in games played and RBI, playing 131 games with Altoona and batting .238 with nine home runs and 52 RBI. In 2015, the Pirates invited him to spring training, and he started the season for the Indianapolis Indians of the Class AAA International League in 2016. Ngope's younger brother, Victor, also plays in the Pirates organization.
