Gift Ngoepe of South Africa spent almost nine years playing baseball in the United States. He was in the minor leagues, the professional level below Major League Baseball. He started his career when he was 18. He is now 27 years old. He played for teams that are part of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball organization, in cities like Bradenton, Florida; State College, Pennsylvania; and Indianapolis, Indiana. He played over 700 games before finally getting promoted to the Pirates on Wednesday. When he entered the game against the defending World Series Champion Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, he made history as the first African player in the Major Leagues. And then he did something even more special: he got a hit in his first at-bat against Jon Lester, one of the best pitchers in baseball. As it rolled into center field, Ngoepe rounded first base and clapped his hands. His teammates smiled and cheered. The television announcer said “at 2:49 South Africa time, Gift Ngoepe has made history.” The game stopped and the ball was taken out of play in honor of his first hit.
Title: South African Baseball Player Gets First Major League Hit
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/SA_baseball.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='South African Baseball Player Gets First Major League Hit' data-article-id='2346'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='10792'>Gift Ngoepe of South Africa spent almost nine years playing baseball in the United States.</span> <span data-start-time='10792' data-end-time='18104'>He was in the minor leagues, the professional level below Major League Baseball.</span> <span data-start-time='18104' data-end-time='22646'>He started his career when he was 18.</span> <span data-start-time='22646' data-end-time='26750'>He is now 27 years old.</span> <span data-start-time='26750' data-end-time='43563'>He played for teams that are part of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball organization, in cities like Bradenton, Florida; State College, Pennsylvania; and Indianapolis, Indiana.</span> <span data-start-time='43563' data-end-time='51708'>He played over 700 games before finally getting promoted to the Pirates on Wednesday.</span> <span data-start-time='51708' data-end-time='68167'>When he entered the game against the defending World Series Champion Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, he made history as the first African player in the Major Leagues.</span> <span data-start-time='68167' data-end-time='81625'>And then he did something even more special: he got a hit in his first at-bat against Jon Lester, one of the best pitchers in baseball.</span> <span data-start-time='81625' data-end-time='90396'>As it rolled into center field, Ngoepe rounded first base and clapped his hands.</span> <span data-start-time='90396' data-end-time='94396'>His teammates smiled and cheered.</span> <span data-start-time='94396' data-end-time='104250'>The television announcer said “at 2:49 South Africa time, Gift Ngoepe has made history.”</span> <span data-start-time='104250' data-end-time='111625'>The game stopped and the ball was taken out of play in honor of his first hit.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/SA_baseball.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=8543 data-hint-location='104250' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/what_does_honor_mean.m4a'>What does honor mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='respect'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/promote.m4a'><span>promote</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/cheer.m4a'><span>cheer</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/respect.m4a'><span>respect</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/baseball.m4a'><span>baseball</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=8544 data-hint-location='90396' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/what_did_his_teammates_do.m4a'>What did his teammates do?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='smiled and cheered'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/signed_autographs.m4a'><span>signed autographs</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/smiled_and_cheered.m4a'><span>smiled and cheered</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/rounded_first.m4a'><span>rounded first</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/stopped_the_game.m4a'><span>stopped the game</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=8545 data-hint-location='81625' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/the_player_rounded_first_base_and__blank_.m4a'>The player rounded first base and <span class='blank'>clapped</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='clapped'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/baseball.m4a'><span>baseball</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/clapped.m4a'><span>clapped</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/smiled.m4a'><span>smiled</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1829/cheered.m4a'><span>cheered</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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