Chandler Redmond: he of the Home Run Cycle.
Chandler Redmond plays for the Springfield Cardinals, the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. He's a burly, left-handed hitting utility player who was drafted in the 32nd round in 2019, out of Gardner-Webb University. He's steadily made his way up the ranks since then, far from a given as a 32nd-rounder. He's a career .260/.351/.497 hitter across 777 professional at bats. A solid hitter overall.
Aaaaaand last night he accomplished one of the rarest feats ever seen on a baseball field. Something that has been done only one other time in the history of professional baseball at any level.
The Home Run Cycle
Chandler Redmond hit for the Home Run Cycle last night. One game. Four bombs. A solo homer, a 2-run homer, a 3-run homer, and a grand slam. Since baseball statistics began being recorded, there has been only one other Home Run Cycle. That occurred on July 27th, 1998 when Tyrone Horne of the Arkansas Travelers hit four home runs in one game, each with a unique number of men on base.
Now, are you ready for the really kooky shit? Similar to the Springfield Cardinals team Chandler Redmond plays on, the Arkansas Travelers were ALSO the St. Louis Cardinals' Double-A affiliate!
Two times in the history of professional baseball. Both for the Cards' Double-A team. Insanity.
Oppo Tacos
You should probably find all of this incredible even if you didn't see how exactly Chandler Redmond hit his home runs. When you watch the footage though, it makes it even more astounding.
Three of Redmond's home runs went to the opposite field. Oppo tacos, as baseball people say. I'm not exaggerating when I say this might be the most impressive part of Redmond's historic night. It's like a running back rushing for 250 yards on runs up the middle. Or a basketball player scoring 80 points on deep three-pointers. It is quite hard to hit a home run to the opposite field. It's arguably the most impressive result a hitter can produce, purely from a skill standpoint. Doing it three times in one game is ludicrous.
What's Next?
Who even cares? Chandler Redmond is a baseball immortal. A singular bolt of lightning that lit the entire world ablaze for a brief moment. He's 25 right now, so if he keeps producing solid numbers he should be in the Major Leagues by the end of next season or maybe 2024, when he's 27. Who knows? But however the chips fall for Chandler Redmond, he will always own a patch of land amidst the expansive fields of baseball history.