FanHouse

Jay Bruce Is a Natural

If you've played baseball before, think about your first home run. Mine was a grand slam when I was 12-years old in Little League. There's nothing quite like connecting with a ball and knowing it's heading over the fence. Now multiply that feeling by about a million and you've got what Jay Bruce must've felt today when he hit his first big league homer. Because it wasn't just his first homer, it was a walkoff.

Bruce's debut was hyped by just about everyone, but through five games he's hitting .579 with a homer, three doubles, four RBIs, and five runs scored. Obviously, he's not going to hit .580 this year, but as first week's go it's hard to imagine one better than the one Bruce has had in the past five days.

Bruce's walk-off was extra special because it came in the same game as his boyhood idol Ken Griffey Jr.'s 599th homer. It's kind of interesting that Griffey made his debut with his dad on the Mariners, mentoring him into stardom and now at the twilight of Junior's career he's able to usher Bruce into the league. Time moves on, but sometimes I could swear that history repeats itself.

Thanks to Bruce Ciskie for the tip.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)