Mike Olt makes history with home runs for both Chicago teams this season
Mike Olt became the first player in history to hit home runs for the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox in the same season Wednesday night when he clubbed his first home run on the south side.
Both franchises have existed for well over 100 years. So it’s surprising this hasn’t happened before now.
Olt is the 14th player in history to play for both Chicago teams in the same season. The White Sox claimed him off waivers earlier this month.
Olt hit a home run for the Cubs at Coors Field in Colorado on April 11, but went on the disabled list soon after and was ultimately replaced in the Cubs’ lineup by star rookie Kris Bryant. Olt has been given regular playing time since signing with the White Sox on Sept. 5 and it has paid off with back-to-back games with home runs this week.
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Mike Olt becomes first player to homer for @Cubs and @WhiteSox in same season: http://t.co/u23hoYi5yt pic.twitter.com/fEIQNFUDyc
— MLB Stat of the Day (@MLBStatoftheDay) September 17, 2015
Olt hit a home run off Oakland pitcher Cody Brantly with one on in the fourth inning on Wednesday night at U.S. Cellular Field. He followed it up Thursday afternoon with a 444-foot solo blast to left field in the fourth inning off A’s starter Sean Nolin.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” Olt told MLB.com after Wednesday’s game. “I’m surprised that it hasn’t happened. I guess not a lot of guys get traded over here from the Cubs or the opposite. It was definitely something I’ll be able to tell my kids about down the road.”
[ On this week’s StewPod: Andrew McCutchen on Pirates’ World Series aspirations.]
Olt is just the sixth position player to play for both Chicago teams in the same season and the first to do since 2003 when Josh Paul went from Toronto to the White Sox to the Cubs. The others on the list are Sammy Strang (1902), Lloyd Merriman (1955), Earl Averill (1960) and Jimmy Stewart (1967).
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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
