White Sox rookie made MLB history by hitting a ridiculously slow pitch for a home run
The Minnesota Twins turned to their first baseman to pitch the ninth inning of Monday’s game against the White Sox.
Chicago was rolling to an easy victory when Willians Astudillo took the mound for the Twins. It was the second time this season that Astudillo mopped up, and he’s thrown some comically slow pitches.
That was the case when White Sox rookie Yermin Mercedes stepped to the plate with two outs and Chicago leading by 11. Astudillo fell behind 3-0, then offered up a 47.1 mph pitch.
Mercedes was swinging and he crushed a 429-foot home run to center field at Target Field. The exit velocity was 109.3 mph, a difference of 62.2 mph between the ball coming to the plate and leaving the bat.
Major League Baseball Stats tweeted a video of the majestic home run and said it was the slowest pitch hit for a home run since the league began tracking in 2008. So it was a piece of history for Mercedes, who is an early candidate to win the American League Rookie of the Year award.
Here is the moment and the White Sox announcers had a laugh at the absurdity of the moment and the score of the game (which Chicago won 16-4):
