Max St-Pierre finally earns big-league shot with Tigers

Le Krach Davis?

All the challenges of the past were worth it for Max St-Pierre.

• Being a 10-year-old loving the game, but “not making contact for the first year I played,” he said.

• The language barrier, about which he once said, “The pitchers thought I was dumb because of my (French-Canadian) accent. I couldn’t communicate with them.”...

They all became worth it when St-Pierre found out Tuesday that after 14 years in the minors he was finally being called up to the big leagues.

On Wednesday in the Tigers clubhouse at Target Field, the “chill bumps” as he called them had disappeared but not the excitement.

“The bumps lasted an hour, though,” he said.

When asked if he’d ever known anyone who spent more time in the minors before getting to the majors, manager Jim Leyland said, “Yeah, me. Eighteen years.”