Kansas City Royals rookie Emmanuel Rivera hits first homer at Wrigley Field
For a young man who grew up in Puerto Rico dreaming of playing in the majors, Fenway Park and Wrigley Field aren’t just ballparks. They’re historical monuments as well as cathedrals.
The two oldest MLB venues, opened in 1912 and 1914, respectively, they’ve each housed major-league teams for more than 100 years.
Kansas City Royals rookie third baseman Emmanuel Rivera, 25, made his major-league debut and collected his first hit at Fenway Park in June. Then on Friday, he hit his first home run as a big leaguer at Wrigley Field as part of his team’s series-opening win over the Chicago Cubs.
Rivera became the first player in major-league history to register his first hit at Fenway Park and first home run at Wrigley Field in the same season, according to Bally Sports Kansas City’s Dave Holtzman.
“It felt like I was a kid, when I was playing baseball when I was a little kid,” Rivera said with assistant strength and conditioning coach Luis Perez translating. “Very unique emotions. It felt very good.”
The home run at Wrigley also held special meaning for Rivera for another reason. As a 13-year-old, Rivera’s first time being in an MLB stadium came at Wrigley Field, where he watched his first game from the stands.
“When I was younger I got a chance to play internationally,” Rivera said. “This was the first big-league park that I visited. So being able to hit here was a special day.”
Rivera’s first hit came in his first game at Fenway Park with friends and family in attendance. He had two hits in his first game. Unfortunately for Rivera, he came out of his second game — which fell on his birthday — with a wrist injury. He had surgery for a broken left hamate bone.
“The firsts are a big deal for us,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “Those are two pretty iconic stadiums that Emmanuel was able to have his first hit and his first homer in. I know his family was there in Boston, which made that really special.
“I know the guys celebrated after the game (on Saturday). I heard them making a big deal about that home run. He’s done a real nice job defensively too. We’ve watched him aggressively attack the ball, not letting the ball play him. He wants to make a play. He’s just doing all the little things right.”
In 40 games for Triple-A Omaha, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound right-handed hitting Rivera posted a slash line of .282/.337/.593 with 14 home runs and 40 RBIs.
In 15 games this season in the majors entering Saturday, Rivera had gone 13 for 50 (.260) with one home run, one double and three RBIs.
Matheny said Rivera told him prior to Saturday’s game that he got an overwhelming number of text messages and calls on Friday night after the home run in the afternoon game.
“Those things are just life-long memories,” Matheny said. “It’s cool to be a part of them.”
