Charleston native lives out a dream with the Cardinals

James Naile must feel like he is living out the script of a Hollywood movie.

A boy from a small town in Southeast Missouri grows up playing baseball. He roots for the St. Louis Cardinals. Goes on to play America's pastime in high school, summer ball and college. Then he's drafted in the 20th round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics, the 608th pick of the draft.

The Charleston, Missouri, native spends seven years in the minor leagues, all with the hope he'll get a chance to pitch on a Major League Baseball mound one day.

In the winter of 2021, Naile signs a minor league deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. He goes to spring training in Jupiter, Florida, where he meets some of his childhood heroes: Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols.

The season begins and he reports to the team's AAA affiliate in Memphis, Tennessee. Naile pitches well. Really well. The big league club is also winning, but the team continues to go through pitchers with a number of guys spending time on the injured list.

Then one day in late June, Naile gets a call. It's the call he's waited his whole life to receive: He's headed to the big leagues. To make it a little sweeter, the team is playing at Busch Stadium.

The 29-year-old gets in his car and makes the five-hour trip from Memphis to St. Louis. A crew from Southeast Missouri — including his father, and coach Michael Minner from the Squirrels, a team Naile played for as a young man — heads to St. Louis to cheer on the hometown hero. On the first day he appears on the roster, the bullpen phone rings: Cardinals manager Oli Marmol wants the rookie right-hander.

Naile comes in, pitches a scoreless inning, and the Southeast Missouri fan club goes wild.

"It was surreal," he told Bally Sports Midwest after the game. "I tried to take a lot of deep breaths and just be in the moment. A lot of people said don't look up, but I did. I just tried to drink it all in. It was amazing."

The ride continues for the rookie right-hander. Through Monday, he has pitched 4.2 scoreless innings. Naile is pitching well and getting opportunities. It's all he ever needed — someone, a team to give him a chance.

Count us among the many in Southeast Missouri and across Cardinals Nation cheering for him each time the bell rings and he enters the game.