ST. PETERSBURG -- Bryan Abreu’s first-pitch fastball came in at 96.6 mph and came off Junior Caminero’s bat at 107.2 mph, bound for the seats beyond the left-center-field fence at Tropicana Field.
Caminero watched the ball fly and leaned back for a moment. By the time he stepped out of the batter’s box to begin his trot around the bases, his coaches and teammates were already pouring out of the dugout to celebrate.
In a defining moment for the Rays’ franchise player and one of the Majors’ brightest young stars, Caminero punched Tampa Bay’s ticket to the postseason with a two-run, walk-off homer -- his 40th of the season -- to finish a thrilling 3-1 win over the Astros on Friday night.
“I thought that was the moment right there where I could really, really elevate myself to be a superstar in this game,” Caminero said through interpreter Kevin Vera.
That wasn’t his first thought, though. Something else flashed through his mind when he crushed the first walk-off hit of his career and etched his name into baseball history.
“It went really, really far,” Caminero said, smiling.
So far, in fact, that some of his bosses didn’t bother to see where it landed. The ball left his bat, and the celebration was on.
“I knew it was gone,” manager Kevin Cash said, “so I just started watching and hugging everybody else.”
“As soon as he hit it, I sent a congrats to our staff -- and off we go,” added president of baseball operations Erik Neander. “You don’t want to jinx anything, but that ball, when it went up, I had enough time before it came down to at least pass something off to congratulate our staff.”
Caminero’s first step was toward the Rays’ dugout, where he looked to Cash and pounded his chest. He high-fived Victor Mesa Jr. before touching first base, looked down and shouted as he rounded second, waved his arms to pump up the crowd before he reached third, and tossed his helmet then hopped into a mob of his teammates waiting at home plate.
As Caminero made his way toward an on-field interview with Rays.TV reporter Ryan Bass, the crowd chanted, “M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!” Caminero raised his arms, asking for more. As the interview ended, he grabbed the microphone and shouted, “Tampa! This is for you!”
“The way he acted and the team acted afterward was pretty spectacular,” Cash said.
And what a way for Caminero to reach the 40-homer mark again.
The two-time All-Star third baseman became the first player in franchise history with multiple 40-homer seasons. In fact, it’s only the third 40-homer season for a Rays hitter, joining his 45-homer campaign last year and Carlos Peña’s club-record 46 in 2007.
“Sometimes things just work out the way they’re supposed to. I think this is a perfect example,” closer Bryan Baker said. “The caliber of player that he is, what he means to this team and this organization, and it comes down to that. … That type of player, it’s been special to be his teammate. Pretty fitting ending to the game.”
At 23 years and 68 days old, Caminero is the second-youngest player in Major League history to reach that mark twice, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, behind only Eddie Mathews, who was 22 years and 347 days old when he reached that milestone a second time in 1954.
“Thank you to God. He’s given me this opportunity, and he’s given me the talent to be in this position,” Caminero said. “It’s all because of God. It was a great swing, and I was able to send it out.”
According to Elias, Caminero is the 11th player in MLB history to hit a walk-off homer on the day his team clinched a spot in the postseason. The first was Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” for the 1951 Giants. The last to do it was Cal Raleigh for the Mariners in 2022.
You might remember another that was hit at Tropicana Field 15 years ago: Evan Longoria’s game-winning, Wild Card-clinching shot in Game 162.
“You couldn’t write it any better,” Neander said.
“It was totally surreal,” CEO Ken Babby added. “Just the magic of the moment.”
And it came as no surprise to the teammates who know him best.
“In the seventh inning, when I finished, I told Junior that he was going to hit a homer tonight,” starter Drew Rasmussen said. “I just said, ‘Look, man. You’re built for the moment. This is who you are. You’re that special of a talent.’ When he hit it in the ninth, we couldn’t have been happier.”
Back in Spring Training, when Caminero electrified the World Baseball Classic with his performance for the Dominican Republic, Cash noted the way he elevates his performance when it matters most and quipped, “We need to get him to the postseason.”
Well, here he comes. If Friday night was a preview, it’s going to be quite a show.
“If he isn't already electric enough?” Baker said. “With a little more at stake, I think he's probably one of the most electric players we have in the game.”