Royals’ Ryan O’Hearn, who homered Tuesday, had Brewers game marked on his calendar
Most of the 20,140 fans at American Family Field in Milwaukee fell silent Tuesday after pinch-hitter Ryan O’Hearn broke a tie with a colossal home run that propelled the Royals to a 5-2 win over the Brewers.
But about 20 or so of those in the stands cheered their hearts out.
They were members of O’Hearn’s extended family, many of whom live in Wisconsin. His father was one of eight kids, and he was the only one to leave the Badger State.
O’Hearn was born in Florida and moved to Texas as a teenager. But his family made frequent trips to Milwaukee, and even took in a Brewers game when American Family Field opened in 2001 as Miller Park.
“I never lived in Milwaukee, but we came up here all the time to see the family, so kind of like a second home,” O’Hearn said after Tuesday’s game. “We made a trip up here every offseason to see the Packers play. I remember coming to the stadium right when it first opened when I was just a kid and remembering how cool it was. So kind of full circle to come back and hit a big homer in front of the family.”
It was a monster shot that broke a 2-2 tie:
O’Hearn made his big-league debut in 2018 but he has frequently bounced between Triple-A Omaha and the Royals.
Last season he joined the Royals for games in Milwaukee, but there were no fans in the stands due to COVID-19 restrictions. He also couldn’t meet with his family.
So Tuesday was a celebration and O’Hearn pointed to his family while rounding the bases.
“During batting practice and in right field, I was running around and they were all screaming at me,” O’Hearn said. “They’ve been waiting on this for a long time. I think last year was my first trip here. Obviously no fans so they were all bummed out that they couldn’t see me. We couldn’t even do anything, I couldn’t go see them after the game or anything, either.
“This has been marked on the calendar for a while and to be able to do that in front of them is awesome. I looked up and my dad had a big smile on his face, in front of his brothers and stuff. So I think today was awesome.”
This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 8:41 AM.
