Besides, once it came, Kemp’s head spun. There were phone calls (first up: his parents in California) and travel arrangements to make. His wife, Lily, and their dog piled in the car at 5:30 a.m. and drove to Pittsburgh from Charlotte, N.C., where the Phillies’ triple-A club was playing; Kemp hopped a 90-minute flight.

The debuts of a pair of Philadelphia Phillies from unlikely beginnings shows that player development comes in all shapes and sizes.