Wyatt Langford had been waiting a month for his first home run, and the Texas Rangers rookie got it in an unusual way.
When did Texas Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford find out he had hit his first Major League home run?
He thought he had hit a home run when he connected on a 2-2 pitch from Cincinnati Reds starter Andrew Abbott in the first inning on Sunday, as he has done multiple times this season.
“I thought I did (hit it out),” Langford said after the Rangers’ 4-3 win. “That’s why I was a little slow out of the box.”
But, like several warning track shots this season, this drive fell just short of the wall.
The right-handed hitting outfielder drove it into the alley in right-center field. It split between Reds center fielder Stuart Fairchild and right fielder Jake Fraley.
Then the unexpected happened. The ball caromed off the angled wall of the bullpen with the 374 marker at the top and slid past Fraley.
Langford noticed out of the corner of his eye as he approached second.
“I looked over and I was like, ‘Man, that ball kicked really funny,’” Langford said.
So Langford turned on the jets.
Rangers pitcher Dane Dunning doesn’t usually pay attention when the Rangers are hitting, he said. He sits on the bench and tries to stay locked in. But even he couldn’t ignore what was happening. He knew his fellow Florida alum was up and once his teammates got excited, he stood up to watch.
“I saw it hit the wall,” Dunning said. ‘I was like, ‘Oh, that’s gonna be a double or a triple.’”
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy was more certain.
“I feel like I’ve had a bunch of (well-hit) balls, it was just a matter of getting that first one,” he added. “I got it in a weird way.”
Langford became the Rangers’ fourth player to hit an inside-the-park home run in his Major League debut. He joined teammates Josh Smith (July 11, 2022), Craig Gentry (September 23, 2011), and Marc Sagmoen (April 17, 1997).
Smith and Langford are next-door neighbors in the clubhouse.
His home run proved to be the difference in the game. It gave Texas a 4-0 lead and the Rangers didn’t score again.
Langford finally has that milestone to remember. But, shortly after the game, he didn’t have the baseball.
“I guess they got it,” Langford said. “I’m not sure if they did or not. I’ll probably just keep it in my locker for now.”
