San Francisco Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski got to catch the ceremonial first pitch on Tuesday night from a very familiar face – his grandfather. Facing off against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, both Mike and his grandfather Carl were able to set foot into the famed grounds that the Red Sox have called home for a very long time.
With the eldest Yastrzemski having called the grounds of Fenway home as a member of the Red Sox, his grandson decided to jump in on the act, hitting a home run in the 7-6 victory for the Giants that took 15 innings to sort out. As historic as the home run was for the Giants outfielder, who chose Fenway for the venue to hit his 20th long ball of the season, it was the first pitch before the game that absolutely stole the show.
The Giants outfielder only has 236 more long balls to hit at Fenway to tie his grandfather in career long balls in Boston, so unless he somehow joins the Red Sox during his career, that record looks to be very, very safe from ever being touched.
The perfectly-thrown first pitch from the mound to home plate was more of a fairy-tale ending than one of an expected outcome, because how else would that situation happen. Being able to also hit a home run in front of his grandfather was exactly what was written in the cards for Mike as well, which is not surprising at all.
On the season, Mike has become the first rookie on the Giants since Dave Kingman in 1972 to hit 20 or more home runs, which is no small feat. The youngest Yastrzemski has been a very bright spot on a mostly disappointing Giants team that has underperformed yet again out in the Bay.
Hitting .266 with 52 runs driven in is quite impressive for a first-year player at the big-league level, as is his .842 OPS. The 29-year-old is firmly in the plans for the Giants in their future, and he looks to have a corner outfield starting job on lock for 2020 and beyond.
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