PHILADELPHIA -- On a cool April night in Reno, Nevada, Matt Daley stepped out of the manager's office in the visiting clubhouse at Aces Ballpark and hit one of the many speed dials on his cell phone.

Matt's dad, John, was on the other line from a hotel in Chicago.

Daley dispensed with the pleasantries and got right to the point. His words were met with a strange response: Dead air.

"For the first time, my dad was speechless," the 27-year-old pitcher recalled with still a hint of shock in his voice. The 2004 Bucknell University graduate tried and succeeded at what his dad and grandfather opted not to try: He became a major league baseball player.

Daley's dad and grandfather were drafted but chose to get real jobs and begin raising families.

Daley's lifelong dream was realized when then Colorado Springs manager Tom Runnells (now the Colorado Rockies' bench coach) told him of his promotion from Triple-A to the majors.

It took six years, 226 minor-league appearances and dozens of bus rides to places most baseball fans have never heard of before fantasy became reality.

"I was more nervous after I got the news than I ever was when I'm pitching," the Garden City, N.Y., native admitted.

Fitting right in

Nerves consumed Daley during his first major league outing and his initial appearance in New York against his favorite team, the Mets, but the right-hander hasn't performed like a rookie in 2009.

Daley has overcome the jitters, a freak injury and major league hitters to post an 0-1 record with a 3.16 earned run average in 32 games.

He's been better since coming off the disabled list June 5, posting a 2.82 ERA. Since July 10, he's been stellar. Opponents are batting .079 (3-for-38) in that span against Daley, who hasn't given up a run in his last 11 appearances. He struck out two in a perfect inning Thursday afternoon in Philadelphia against the defending World Series champion Phillies.

"It really took me about a month after coming off the DL before I was 100 percent," he said.

Daley, only the second former Bison player to reach the majors (Eric Junge in 1999) in the last 56 years, landed on the DL the day after a strange incident during a May 17 game in Pittsburgh.

He was backing up catcher Yorvit Torrealba after allowing a hit to then Pirate Freddy Sanchez, when home plate umpire Bill Welke kicked Sanchez's bat out of the way in anticipation of a play at home plate.

A split second after the bat landed, Daley's left foot stepped on the bat.

"You couldn't do that again if you tried," he said. "The umpire did exactly what he was supposed to do in that situation. I never saw the bat."

What Daley did see was his one chance as a major league pitcher slipping away.

His door opened because of injuries to fellow pitchers Franklin Morales and Taylor Buchholz.

It could have closed in much the same way.

"I'm not a big prospect so I only have so many chances," the undrafted free agent admitted. "I wanted to get back as soon as I could."

Daley's roster spot was waiting for him when he returned on June 5. He has flourished since, including three consecutive scoreless appearances in New York against his childhood idol Mets last week.

He's allowed 20 hits in 31 1/3 innings overall, striking out 30 and walking 11.

Fleeting hope

Daley, who had a 1.13 ERA in five appearances in Triple-A before his callup, seemed to have only a fleeting hope of a major league career after elbow pain became prevalent toward the end of high school.

"During the state playoffs my senior year, I would tell my coach before a game that I didn't know how long I could go," he said.

Daley threw five shutout innings to start the state final before having to leave because of significant pain in his right elbow.

He pitched during the fall of his freshman season at Bucknell, but kept mum about the pain.

"I was afraid I would be cut from the team," he said.

Daley finally got his right elbow checked out in 2001. The first few doctors told him it was just tendonitis. "I had tendonitis before. I could deal with that," he said. "I knew it wasn't that."

Finally, Daley turned to Dr. David Dines, who is affiliated with the Mets' medical staff.

Dines quickly confirmed Daley's fears of a more serious issue that would require Tommy John surgery.

He was at a crossroads in his life.

"At that point, I had to decide that if I wasn't going to have a chance to play major league baseball then why have the surgery," Daley said. "You only need it for three things: throw a baseball, spike a volleyball or throw a javelin.

"I loved baseball. I wanted to at least still play in college."

After the surgery and months of rehabilitation, Daley blossomed for coach Gene Depew at Bucknell. After pitching in relief in previous years, he was 6-2 as a starter with a 2.82 ERA as a senior, including a seven-inning no-hitter.

Daley studied in Australia during his junior year at Bucknell and pitched in several games there. That's when he said he felt like he was starting to get the control back of his three pitches (fastball, slider and changeup). He also saw a spike in his velocity, going from topping out on his fastball at 87 mph to 94 or 95.

The righty with the unconventional delivery attributed that to the intense rehab process and admittedly being a late bloomer.

"I am much stronger now and I was only 155 pounds coming out of high school," the 6-foot-2 Daley said. "It took me a while to grow into my body."

Making his mark

It took Daley some time before he realized what he has accomplished since leaving the Lewisburg campus in the spring of 2004.

Nerves overcame him when he first got the call to warm up in the Rockies' bullpen, when he made his major league debut April 25 against the Dodgers and when he pitched in his hometown against the Mets.

"It really sunk in when I played at Citi Field in New York in front of my family and friends," he said. "I was running out of the bullpen in the game against the team I grew up loving. When the bullpen door opened, my heart exploded. My warm-ups were all over the place.

"I took a lot of deep breaths."

Finally, though, the focus now is on keeping his spot in the bullpen and maintaining the confidence of Rockies manager Jim Tracy and pitching coach Bob Apodaca, a former Mets pitcher.

"(Apodaca) and bullpen coach Jim Wright have really worked with me mostly with game preparation," Daley said. "They are into how to pitch in different situations, attacking different hitters."

Daley spends a lot of pre-game reading the scouting reports on opposing hitters for that series, then studying video to see if what he read and saw match up. And then there are daily pitchers' meetings and discussions with veterans such as Huston Street, Aaron Cook, Josh Fogg and Jason Marquis.

"(In the minors), you just went on what another pitcher saw when he faced that hitter," he said.

New outlook

The view of Denver in late April was the first for the lifelong East Coast guy. He said playing far from home has helped his development.

"I definitely wanted to play for an East Coast team. It's really great having my family, my girlfriend, friends and people from Bucknell see me play," Daley said in Philadelphia this week. "But being in Colorado has allowed me to really focus on baseball."

So, is it as great being a professional athlete as everyone seems to think?

"The coolest part is being up on the mound facing big league batters. I can't put it into words," he said. "It's such an amazing feeling.

"The perks are pretty good, too."

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