Most Read Stories of 2023: Parker Meadows of the Detroit Tigers Makes History
Update, Dec. 29: This was the most-read story on our site for the entire year of 2023!
The Detroit Tigers rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning on Friday night to stun the Houston Astros by a score of 4-1.
The Tigers got the win thanks to a walk-off three-run home run from freshly-called up prospect Parker Meadows.
In addition to giving the Tigers the win, the blast also made some special baseball history.
Per @OptaSTATS on social media:
Parker Meadows of the @tigers is the only MLB player to have a walkoff 3-run HR (or grand slam) in the bottom of the 9th for his first career RBI (since RBI became an official stat in 1920).
The 23-year-old is ranked the No. 10 prospect in the Tigers organization.
The following comes from his MLB.com prospect profile:
Meadows revamped his swing going into the 2022 season with help from his high-school hitting coach, shortening his path, removing a hitch and taking a line-drive approach. It’s still a longer swing thanks to his lanky frame, but the change allowed him to catch up with high velocity while still giving him time to lay off slower pitches outside the zone. He cut his strikeout rate under 20 percent and pushed his walk rate over 10 percent, the first time in his pro career for both, and he hit almost evenly to all fields. The more he reaches base, the more he can put his speed to use. That also translates in the field, enabling him to hold his own in center field, though many evaluators expect him to eventually move to a corner spot.
The Tigers are now 59-69 on the season and in third place in the American League Central.
They'll take on the Astros again on Saturday night at 6:10 p.m. ET.
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