Reds Manager Terry Francona Has Hilarious Reaction to Sal Stewart's Historic Home Run

His historic season continues.

Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sal Stewart (27) smiles to a teammate in the dugout in the seventh inning of the MLB Interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Athletics at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026 The Reds won the second game of the series, 3-2. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Sal Stewart's rookie season has been everything the Reds could have hoped for. On Thursday, he cemented his place in Reds history by hitting his 25th home run of the season in the team's win that clinched a three-game sweep of the Athletics.

Sal Stewart Makes History Again Against the Athletics

Aug 6, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sal Stewart runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Athletics in the fourth inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This season, the 22-year-old is slashing .257/.336/.484 with 25 home runs, 87 RBI, 23 doubles, and 12 stolen bases. His 87 RBI are second best in all of baseball and lead all rookies. He's 12th in Major League Baseball in home runs and 35th in baseball in OPS (.820). After the game on Thursday, manager Terry Francona commented on Sal's home run that helped propel the Reds to the win.

"Sal was leading off. It was after a long inning." Francona told Charlie Goldsmith. "He asked if he should take one because a lot of times after a long inning you don’t want to have a quick inning. I said I want you to hit one into the right field stands.”

Stewart did hit a home run to lead off the inning, but not to where Francona said for him to do so. "He never listens," Francona joked.

His 25th home run places him in sole possession of the second most home runs by a rookie in Cincinnati Reds history. Frank Robinson set the record with 38 in 1956, 70 years ago. There are still 48 games remaining for him to attempt to break Robinson's record. The current Reds modern-day record for RBI by a rookie was set in 1953 by Jim Greengrass with 100. That record may be broken this season. The all-time record by a rookie is 104. That was set by Bug Holliday all the way back in 1889. 

Can Sal Stewart Set All-Time Reds' Rookie Records This Season?

Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sal Stewart (27) fouls off a pitch in the seventh inning of the MLB Interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Athletics at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. The Reds completed a sweet of the Athletics with a 6-5 win. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Stewart is just 14 RBI away from passing Greengrass. In July, he had the most RBI by any rookie in Major League history with 84 through July. That dates back to 1920. He set the Reds' record for the most home runs by a rookie before the All-Star break with 19, and he was the fastest Reds' rookie to reach 50 RBI. At his current pace, he will smash the team's RBI record. At his current rate, he's on pace to reach 120, barring a cold streak.

The Reds struck gold in Stewart. He was a competitive balance pick back in 2022 after the Reds extended a qualifying offer to Nick Castellanos. He signed with Philadelphia that offseason, giving the Reds the draft pick to select Stewart. He was committed to play at the University of Miami and opted to sign with the Reds. Still just 22 years old, Stewart is having a tremendous impact for the Reds, and it has only just begun.