Frank Schwindel, who had short stint with Royals, crushes home run in return to majors
It’s seems nearly a certainty that Frank Schwindel still has the ball from his first hit in the major leagues. But he may treasure his second hit even more.
In the seventh inning of the Royals’ 7-4 loss to the Tigers in Detroit on April 6, 2019, Schwindel reached on an infield single for his first big-league knock. It was a special moment for a player who wondered if he would ever reach the majors.
After six seasons in the minors, Royals fans clamored for Schwindel to get at least a September call-up. He was Triple-A Omaha’s Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018 after hitting 41 home runs with 165 RBIs over those two seasons combined. He earned the nickname “Frank the Tank.”
But the Royals didn’t give Schwindel his shot until he broke spring camp with the team in 2019. It was a short stay in the majors as he appeared in just six games and had 15 at-bats before he was demoted. Weeks later, the team designated Schwindel for assignment.
Rather than stay in the Royals organization, Schwindel signed with the Tigers and was in their minor-league system for the rest of the 2019 season. In 2020, there were no minor-league games because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he became a free agent in November.
Schwindel signed with the A’s, tore it up at Triple-A this year (16 homers in 44 games) and was called up this week.
On Wednesday night, Schwindel launched a long home run into the upper deck at RingCentral Coliseum in his first plate appearance back in the majors:
“Just a rollercoaster of emotions right there,” Schwindel told reporters, per MLB.com. “I got a good pitch to hit, put a good swing on it and then had to stand there. I normally don’t watch them, but I stood there to make sure it hit the seats in fair territory and ran around the bases to celebrate with the guys. Once I saw the home run sign, I was feeling pretty good.”
Schwindel mentioned the short stay with the Royals in the postgame interview. The home run was his second hit in the majors and he had to wait for a video replay to confirm it was a fair ball.
“I had a couple of at-bats in 2019 and have been doing everything I can to try and get another chance up here,” Schwindel said. “It was just a sigh of relief. First one in the books and a 3-0 lead at the time, nothing felt better.”
The home run proved big as the A’s beat the Texas Rangers 3-1.
This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 9:33 AM.
