Twins’ Eddie Rosario homers on first pitch he sees in MLB career
Memo to MLB pitchers young and old: Whatever you do, don’t give the new, young hitters anything to hit in their MLB debuts. They’re coming up swinging and they’re ready to make an instant impact at your expense.
On Tuesday night, Carlos Perez of the Los Angeles Angels made his instant impact, becoming the first player since Miguel Cabrera in 2003 to hit a walk-off homer in his major-league debut.
On Wednesday, Eddie Rosario of the Minnesota Twins decided he really didn’t want to wait that long. Instead, he offered at the first pitch he ever saw in a major-league uniform, depositing Scott Kazmir’s 91-mph fastball in the left field bleachers at Target Field for an impressive opposite field home run.
One pitch. One swing. One home run.
We don’t need Statcast to tell us that’s optimal efficiency for a major-league hitter. But as you can probably surmise, there are numerous historical tidbits worth mentioning in connection to that one swing.
For example, Rosario is the 119th player to homer in his MLB at-bat, but only the 29th to homer on the very first pitch.
Would you believe two of those players are actually pitchers? Both very recent, too.
Starling Marte of the Pittsburgh Pirates was the most recent player to homer on the first pitch he saw. He hit Dallas Keuchel’s first pitch of the game out to left field back on July 26, 2012.
Jorge Soler of the Chicago Cubs is the last major-leaguer to homer in his first at-bat last season. Luke Hughes was the last Twin to do so back on April 28, 2010.
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Rosario, 23, was a fourth-round selection by Minnesota in 2010. Prior to last season, he was ranked as the No. 60 prospect in baseball, but a rough season knocked his value down a few pegs. He’s bounced back a little bit this season, hitting .242/.280/.379 with three homers in 23 games at Triple-A. Enough, at least, that the Twins were willing to give him a look when Oswaldo Arcia landed on the DL.
The home run was his only hit in four trips on Wednesday, but maybe the big league call will be just the spark he needs.
One thing we can confirm, he got the silent treatment on his home run.
He’s not the first and certainly won’t be the last.
Beyond that and all the historical stuff though, there’s really nothing cooler than watching Rosario’s family celebrate the moment as he rounds the bases. It wasn’t just one man’s dream that came true and one man’s journey that reached its ultimate destination. Many people helped pave the way, and they all rejoiced as one, after just one swing.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
