Worcester catcher/infielder Mickey Gasper gets call-up from Red Sox. Here's how he got there.

BOSTON — Unlike the previous evening’s whirlwind, Mickey Gasper left more than one ticket for potential visitors Tuesday night.

His second full day in the big leagues with the Boston Red Sox was more of a celebration. Gasper received the dream call less than 48 hours before, the first position player from Bryant University to appear at baseball’s top level.

Keith MacWhorter and James Karinchak, two right-handed pitchers, have some long-awaited company thanks to a catcher/infielder. MacWhorter was a high school standout in Rhode Island who blazed the trail with the Red Sox in 1980. Karinchak was Gasper’s college roommate while the Bulldogs developed into a regional power and debuted with the Cleveland Guardians in 2019.

“It’s exciting," Gasper said prior to a 9-4 victory over the Texas Rangers, the second in a three-game series. "I didn’t think I was going to beat [ former college teammate Ryan Ward of Millbury ] with the way he’s been swinging it, but it’s pretty surreal.”

Players with Gasper’s developmental background aren’t supposed to be here. Native of a cold-weather state like New Hampshire, college in New England, just a $5,000 signing bonus from the New York Yankees — he's nobody’s idea of a blue-chip prospect. What Gasper has done is simply put his head down, work diligently and perform impressively whenever given the chance.

Monday night was a perfect example. Gasper was summoned as a surprise pinch hitter and grinded out a walk in the bottom of the 10th inning. Rob Refsnyder’s single to deep left center gave Boston a 5-4 walkoff win, a critical result to snap a four-game losing streak and remain very much in the thick of the American League wild-card chase.

“It’s just been a lot of support and love from my parents being able to help me continue this dream,” Gasper said. “I didn’t sign for a lot of money. I’ve been living at home a lot. I’ve been blessed with a great friend group that’s given me opportunities to go live in Tampa in the offseason to get better.”

Gasper enjoyed a productive college stint in Smithfield under former Bryant coach Steve Owens. He piled up a 1.046 OPS during an NCAA Tournament run in 2016, a .998 OPS through 54 games in 2017 and a 1.007 OPS in 56 games as a senior in 2018. Gasper also sizzled through a strong Cape Cod Baseball League summer with Brewster in 2017, posting a .922 OPS in 39 games against the best college talent in the nation.

That wasn’t enough for professional executives to invest heavily. Gasper is undersized at 5 feet 10 inches, and there was some question about which defensive position he might be able to fill at the next level. He was the 817th selection in the 2018 draft, and he’s now just the fourth player among 40 tabbed by the Yankees that year to reach the big leagues.

“The special thing about coach Owens is we might not have been loaded with talent when we got to Bryant,” Gasper said. “But he developed a pro baseball player. If you love the game and you’re willing to put in the work that it takes and match his intensity, you have a chance to be a really good professional baseball player.”

Gasper is one of 24 draftees from Bryant since 2009. His time on campus included sharing a dugout with fellow picks such as Warwick native Robby Rinn, Cumberland native Chris Wright, Karinchak and Ward, a former T&G Super Teamer who has cracked 26 home runs through his first 88 games at Triple-A this season with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. Gasper finished with better than an .861 OPS three times through 2022, was selected in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft by the Red Sox during the offseason and exploded at the plate in 40 games at Triple-A Worcester before earning a promotion.

“I tell everybody there was no adjustment for me getting into pro ball from Bryant,” Gasper said. “The level of expectation from coach Owens, the level of intensity in his practices, how much energy he brought to the ballpark and what he expected from us — zero adjustment for me.”

Gasper was batting .401 with an 1.179 OPS during his time with the WooSox, production that pretty much forced Boston’s hand when it made a slew of roster moves on Monday. He still works out with Owens during the offseason at Rutgers, using new homes for both his parents and his college coach in New Jersey as the perfect rallying point to continue what on the surface would have seemed an unlikely journey.

“Coach Owens being at Rutgers with my parents back in New Jersey now has been something,” Gasper said. “I can’t thank him enough for letting me work out there at an A-plus facility.

“It’s really an accumulation of a lot of people being there for me.”

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester catcher/infielder Mickey Gasper gets call-up from Red Sox. Here's how he got there.