Can Fulmer find a spot in Chicago White Sox's depleted starting rotation?
In April 1999, Jim Parque was pumped up.
It was the left-hander's first full season in the Chicago White Sox's rotation, and Parque was looking forward to making his first start at venerable Fenway Park.
Before he actually took the mound against the Red Sox, Parque was stopped by a Fenway security guard.
"He wouldn't let me in," the boyish-looking pitcher said. "I showed him my (MLB player) ID and he said it was fake."
Parque eventually did gain entrance, and the humorous tale came to mind Tuesday night when Carson Fulmer came out of the White Sox's bullpen and started against Boston.
Given his string of failure since being selected by the White Sox with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2015 draft, you could picture a Fenway guard not buying Fulmer being back on the major-league roster.
He is, after being recalled from Class AAA Charlotte last week for the fourth time this year.
It has been another roller-coaster ride of a season for Fulmer, but maybe the White Sox's extreme patience is starting to show signs of paying off.
Outside of Lucas Giolito, the Sox's starting rotation has been a disaster this year.
Reynaldo Lopez has the highest ERA (6.23) in baseball, followed by Ivan Nova (5.91).
Opening-day starter Carlos Rodon is out for the season following Tommy John surgery, and Dylan Covey and Manny Banuelos are on the injured list with sore shoulders.
The White Sox rolled the dice on Ervin Santana and Odrisamer Despaigne, and both moves were huge failures.
Santana was released in late April and Despaigne was released Monday. Both veteran right-handers were 0-2 with a 9.45 ERA in 3 starts.
With top prospect Dylan Cease going through a tough stretch (8.82 ERA over his last 4 starts) and not likely to arrive until late July or August, the Sox signed Hector Santiago to a minor-league contract last week.
Now in his third stint with the White Sox, Santiago made his first start for Charlotte on Tuesday and allowed 1 run in 5 innings to go with 7 strikeouts.
Santiago could very well get the call when the Sox need a starter Sunday against the Minnesota Twins.
As the season progresses, keep an eye on Fulmer.
Yes, the former Vanderbilt star was a career 6-8 with a 6.64 ERA in 33 games (17 starts) with the White Sox since 2016, but he pitched well against Boston on Tuesday night, giving up 1 unearned run with 3 strikeouts in 2 innings.
Fulmer also had 2 strikeouts while throwing a scoreless inning of relief Sunday at Texas.
Walks have been his downfall - 55 in 78⅔ innings - but Fulmer is still a work in progress at the age of 25.
"Just continuing to stay ahead of hitters," Fulmer said of his latest focus at Charlotte. "I was throwing a lot more strikes, and that definitely helped me out. I'm just trying to find some consistency."