Cardinals’ JJ Wetherholt makes MLB history with home run and walk-off in first 2 games originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The St. Louis Cardinals are in the midst of a major rebuild under Chaim Bloom’s leadership, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be competitive this upcoming season.
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Fortunately for the Cardinals, they have a few fun players still on the roster. None has been as fun through two games as JJ Wetherholt has been. The top prospect is off to a strong start, and a history-making one at that.
According to OptaSTATS, Wetherholt’s start to the year, with a home run in his MLB debut and a walk-off in his second game, made for some history that no player has ever done before.
JJ Wetherholt makes MLB history with a two-game start to career
“JJ Wetherholt of the @Cardinals is the first player in MLB history with a home run in his first career game and a walk-off hit in his second,” OptaSTATS shared.
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This is a very specific piece of history for Wetherholt, but it’s still some impressive history nonetheless.
Out of all the players in MLB history, there hasn’t been a single one to hit a home run in their MLB debut and follow it up with a walk-off hit in their second career game.
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There are plenty of rookies who hit home runs in their MLB debuts, most notably Chase DeLauter of the Cleveland Guardians and Carson Benge of the New York Mets this season.
But no player has paired a home run in their debut with a walk-off in their second career game. Either one of these, through two career games, would be great for a rookie. Wetherholt has done both in back-to-back games.
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While it’s only two games, the Cardinals look like they’ve found a future superstar in Wetherholt. He’s hitting .333 with one home run and four RBIs through two games. The 23-year-old is breaking out, and it’s just the start of what could be a great career.
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