Inside-the-parker for 1st career HR? HOU prospect joins strange company
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Every first career professional home run is memorable. But Astros prospect Justin Trimble’s came in unforgettable fashion.
Trimble legged out an inside-the-park homer during Single-A Fayetteville’s 7-4 win over Columbia on Wednesday, marking the first pro homer for the 21-year-old infielder in his 33rd career game.
How unusual is that? The numbers on that weren’t immediately available for the Minors, but we can provide some Major League context.
The answer is: Not very common … at least anymore.
It used to be. It’s happened a total of 743 times in MLB history, according to Statspass. But the overwhelming majority of those came during the 1800s, when most ballparks didn’t have fences. It happened 22 times in 1884 alone, for example!
One of those came from Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson!
Some of the other names on that pre-Modern Era list are not as well-known, but they are no less astonishing.
Peek-A-Boo Veach, Kansas City Cowboys (1884)
Henry Easterday, Philadelphia Keystones (1884)
Count Campau, Detroit Wolverines (1888)
Skyrocket Smith, Louisville Colonels (1888)
Boileryard Clarke, Baltimore Orioles (1893)
Big Jeff Pfeffer, Chicago Cubs (1906)
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The modern era is a different story. It’s only happened 14 times in the 21st century, making Trimble’s accomplishment quite unusual indeed.
Had his come in the big leagues, Trimble would’ve joined some interesting company. The list of the last 10 MLB players to hit an inside-the-park homer for their first career dinger is a surprising mix of names:
- Wyatt Langford, Rangers, April 28, 2024
- Josh Smith, Rangers, July 11, 2022
- Zach McKinstry, Dodgers, April 3, 2021
- Dansby Swanson, Braves, Sept. 6, 2016
- James McCann, Tigers, April 29, 2015
- Norichika Aoki, Brewers, April 20, 2012
- Conor Gillaspie, Giants, Sept. 27, 2011
- Craig Gentry, Rangers, Sept. 23, 2011
- Jose Altuve, Astros, Aug. 20, 2011
- Tony Campana, Cubs, Aug. 5, 2011