Royals’ Ryan McBroom continues to drop the boom as a game-changing pinch hitter
Something drew Alex Gordon’s attention in the middle of his sentence as he sat in front of the camera conducting a postgame video conference call with reporters.
He’d been discussing the team’s win on Saturday and the trade that sent Trevor Rosenthal to San Diego.
Who was the presence in the room that warranted the 14-year veteran’s acknowledgment? Slugger Ryan McBroom, who had in an 18-day span broke both the franchise single-season record for pinch-hit home runs as well as the career record. It’s also the highest single-month total by an American League player since 1953.
McBroom smashed his third pinch-hit homer, a solo shot off Zack Burdi that tied the game in the seventh inning on Saturday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“McBroom’s here now, so I know you guys want to talk to him,” Gordon said. “He’s been on fire. I’ve never seen anything like it. He pinch hits, one swing a game. He’ll hit a homer and go grab a beer. It’s pretty cool to see.”
This year, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound McBroom made an Opening Day MLB roster for the first time in his career. He has played in 24 games this season — one more than he appeared in last September after the Royals acquired him from the New York Yankees and gave him his first taste of the big leagues.
So far this season, McBroom has batted .327 (18 for 55) with a .655 slugging percentage. Of his 18 hits, five have been home runs and three doubles.
With the left-handed hitting first baseman Ryan O’Hearn performing well, particularly with runners in scoring position where he’s 12 for 25, McBroom has been utilized as a bat off the bench that can change the complexion of the game with one swing.
Saturday’s game-tying homer wasn’t the first time one of McBroom’s pinch-hit appearances has altered the way the late innings have played out.
He hit a game-tying pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning on Aug. 11 in Cincinnati, and he also hit a go-ahead pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning on Wednesday in St. Louis.
“I don’t know if we give enough credit, how hard that is to do — to come into the game mid-stream like that and then coming off a rightie too,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said of McBroom’s exploits on Saturday. “He did another incredible job.”
Thirteen pinch-hit home runs had been hit in the majors through Saturday afternoon’s game, and McBroom had three of them.
So what’s the secret?
“I don’t know if there is a secret to be honest,” McBroom said. “I haven’t pinch hit a lot in my life. I think it’s just being almost to a point where you are carefree. Because the situations are different, the scenarios, everything is different. I honestly have no answer.”
McBroom insists hitting is not easy, and it stands to reason that entering a game cold off the bench to hit in pressure situations against relievers with high-velocity fastballs and wicked breaking balls would only be tougher.
While he describes his job as having to stay ready to hit at a moment’s notice, he also admitted he found out he was going to bat about three second prior to he stepped into the on deck circle on Saturday. He hadn’t faced the pitcher before, though he said he’d seen some video of Burdi at some point.
“That’s usually what I try to do in most at-bats anyways,” McBroom said of wanting to do damage. “I know sometimes it probably doesn’t look like it, but I am. I’m not trying to do too much, but I’m definitely trying to hit a ball in the gap, possibly over the wall. Just anything to help spark that fire in the team.”
Saturday’s homer sparked a five-run inning for the Royals, who went on to win 9-6 and even their series with the White Sox.
McBroom became the first AL player with three or more pinch-hit home runs in a season since Daniel Palka had four for the White Sox in 2018.
McBroom has also registered a pinch hit in three consecutive games, including a pinch-hit single on Friday night.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he’s only the second Royal to accomplish that along with Hal McRae (July 27-29, 1986), and McBroom is also the first AL player with a pinch hit in three consecutive games since Vladimir Guerrero (June 15-17, 2009).
“Pinch hitting is not easy,” O’Hearn said. “I’ve done it quite a bit in my career so far. You feel like you’ve kind of got to learn how to do it. The way he has come up in big situations and won games for us and hit homers — not even just homers. I feel like every time he pinch hits he gets on base somehow. It just shows what kind of hitter he is. It’s fun to watch.”
