White Sox rookie Sam Antonacci turns a routine ground ball into a 57-foot inside-the-park home run, the first of his MLB career. It capped a chaotic night in Arizona and perfectly fit his unorthodox, hustle-driven style of play.
You never forget your first major league home run. And for Chicago White Sox rookie Sam Antonacci, I’m not sure anybody else will either.
I’ve seen all kinds of first MLB home runs through the years — from traditional blasts to grand slams, walk-offs, and even players going deep in their first at-bat or on the very first pitch they see. But I’ve never seen anything quite as ridiculous and memorable as what happened to Antonacci on Tuesday night in Arizona.
The White Sox bats have started to come alive since the team arrived on the West Coast, carrying momentum from a weekend series in Sacramento into Tuesday night’s matchup with the Diamondbacks. In the second inning, Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, and Colson Montgomery blitzed Arizona starter Merrill Kelly with back-to-back-to-back home runs.
That came after Chicago had already put up a four-spot in the top of the first inning, a frame in which Antonacci nearly had a home run of his own. He crushed a ball 408 feet to straightaway center field. In most big league parks, it would have been his first MLB homer. But in Arizona, it caromed high off the batter’s eye just below the yellow line and stayed in play. Antonacci cruised into third for the first triple of his career.
Later in the game, Antonacci stepped to the plate with the White Sox holding an 8-2 lead in the top of the ninth. Facing right-hander Ryan Thompson, he slapped a 98 mph ground ball the other way, placing it perfectly past a slightly shifted infield and down the line.
Then chaos broke out.
The ball appeared to be interfered with by the ball boy down the left field line, and third base umpire Adam Beck was quick to signal that it remained in play. But believing there had been interference, Diamondbacks left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. completely gave up on the play.
Sam Antonacci and Everson Pereira, who was on first base, did not. They never stopped running. By the time Gurriel recovered and threw the ball in, Antonacci was sliding into home.
After a review and rules clarification, the call went the White Sox’ way. The play stood, and in the scorebook, it went down as the first MLB home run of Antonacci’s career despite traveling just 57 feet in the air.
Antonacci is the first White Sox player in 50 years to hit an inside-the-park home run for his first career homer.
Memorable? Yes. Conventional? Absolutely not. But maybe it’s the perfect way for a player like Antonacci to get his first one in the books.
During the interview the White Sox do with all of their players for the "Know Your Sox" segment of the television broadcast, Brooke Fletcher asked Sam Antonacci to describe his style of play in one word. His answer? Unorthodox.
That tracks.
He’s all about hustle and grit. He’s an excellent baserunner with strong bat-to-ball skills. He has a knack for getting hit by pitches, and he offers plenty of defensive versatility. Whatever it takes, Antonacci finds a way to impact the game.
So it’s only fitting that his first home run didn’t come on the 408-foot blast he nearly had earlier, but instead on a heads-up, full-effort play that perfectly captured who he is as a player.
Rest assured, Antonacci has flashed developing power this year in spring training, the minor leagues, and even the World Baseball Classic with Team Italy. There will be plenty of more traditional home runs in his future.
But this one will be ingrained in our collective memory for a long time.