All the way, Shea! A's catcher hits first inside-the-park HR since Little League

CHICAGO -- Thursday night was supposed to be a chance for Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers to give his legs a rest as the designated hitter.

So much for that.

Two innings after a delayed stroll around the bases as he deposited an opposite-field solo blast into Wrigley Field’s right-field basket, Langeliers launched a splitter low in the zone from Cubs starter Shota Imanaga for a towering fly ball to center that was completely lost by Pete Crow-Armstrong. Langeliers then flew around those same bases for an inside-the-park home run.

Langeliers’ two-homer night was not enough for the A’s to secure a sweep, however, after the bullpen blew a three-run lead in the ninth for a crushing 7-6 walk-off loss. He did produce the 15th instance in A’s history of a player with multiple homers in a game, including at least one inside-the-parker, according to Elias Sports. Here is the list of A’s to do it in the divisional era (since 1969):

• Langeliers: June 4, 2026
• Lawrence Butler: July 8, 2025
• Billy Williams: Aug. 23, 1975
• Sal Bando: Aug. 31, 1973
• Reggie Jackson: May 21, 1969

The caveat here is that Langeliers is primarily a catcher, a position notorious for its slow-footed athletes due to the rigors of crouching down behind the plate daily for nine innings.

Of course, Langeliers is much faster than the average catcher. In fact, per Statcast, he’s the fastest -- with his average sprint speed of 28.5 feet per second entering Thursday leading all Major League catchers. That’s why it was no surprise to see Langeliers turn on the burners, completing his trip from home to home in 16.65 seconds.

Most of that sprinting occurred after rounding first. Initially, Langeliers turned his head in disgust upon making contact and tossed his bat while jogging down the line. Once the ball landed well beyond Crow-Armstrong and rolled to the wall, Langeliers was off to the races, finishing with a feet-first slide into home plate for a round-tripper that also scored Henry Bolte from second to put the A’s ahead, 4-0.

“I was kind of just trotting down the line,” Langeliers said. “I thought PCA was messing with me, like, ‘Oh, I don’t see it.’ Then I saw the ball coming down behind him and I was like, ‘Oh, I gotta go!’ Once I rounded second, I was just staring at [third base coach Bobby Crosby]. Bob sent me and I was like, ‘No way this is about to happen.’ It was crazy.”

Shortly after returning to the dugout, Langeliers dug out the coldest water bottle he could find from a nearby Gatorade cooler and chugged it.

“I was telling the guys that I’m going to be out of oxygen for the next two days,” Langeliers said with a laugh. “I couldn’t catch my breath.”

Before Langeliers, the last A’s player with an inside-the-parker who was a primary catcher for his career was Terry Steinbach, who did it nearly 20 years ago on Sept. 26, 1996, against Mariners left-hander Jamie Moyer.

The historic ballpark in Chicago must also be accounted for here. In the 112-year history of Wrigley Field, Langeliers is just the eighth player to record a multihomer game with at least one inside-the-parker at the stadium:

• Langeliers: June 4, 2026
• Ryne Sandberg: July 27, 1991
• Al Ferrara: June 7, 1966
• Dick Stuart: June 11, 1962
• Tony Taylor: July 1, 1958
• Ernie Banks: June 4, 1958
• Joe Adcock: May 31, 1956
• Hack Wilson: June 4, 1929

For Langeliers, it was his first inside-the-park home run as a professional, and the only time he recalled ever doing it was as a youth.

“First one,” Langeliers said. “Not since, like, Little League.”

Langeliers collecting his 15th and 16th homers of the year in two different ways should have been the cherry on top of the A’s second sweep of 2026. Instead, it was impossible to celebrate anything after the A’s bullpen, which heroically shut it down in Wednesday’s victory, blew a 6-1 lead after J.T. Ginn’s impressive six innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts.

Rather than pushing their record back to .500, the A’s (30-32) failed to gain ground in the AL West, and now sit 2 1/2 games back of the Mariners for first place.

“It’s kind of tough to see right now,” Langeliers said. “But, big picture, coming into Wrigley, to win a series on the road is always good. It definitely stings right now. But long term, it’s good.”