Bryce Eldridge rewrote record books on Wednesday as he became the youngest player in MLB history to hit a walk-off grand slam. The San Francisco Giants won 11-10 against the Washington Nationals, scoring ten runs in the bottom two innings for an improbable comeback.
With the Giants trailing 10-7 and no outs in the ninth, Eldridge came to the plate with the bases loaded. On a 2-0, 80 mph slider from Nationals’ Mitchell Parker towards left field for a 326-foot home run.
As a result, Eldridge surpassed MLB icon Roberto Clemente’s record for the youngest walk-off grand slam, set 70 years ago. Clemente had hit an inside-the-park walk-off slam on July 25, 1956, when he was 21 years, 342 days. Eldridge is 89 days younger.
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After the game, the infielder was positively affected by the news, controlling overwhelming emotion when speaking to reporters.
“That’s the first I’ve heard about that, obviously, but I’m trying to wipe my smile off my face and stay professional,” he said. “Man, that’s cool. I mean, that’s like what I’ve worked for my whole life. [That’s] something I always strive to be, which is to be great at this game. That’s really cool.”
“I’ve dreamed and prayed about that my whole life, just being great at this game. I’ve never really seen a life outside of baseball, even from when I was nine years old, I never envisioned myself in an office or doing anything other than playing in the MLB, and it’s just cool that I’m here and have moments like these.”
The Giants’ top-ranked prospect recorded his fourth home run of the season. He is hitting .298 with 14 RBIs on 28 hits and has a .906 OPS. After his brief debut last year, Eldridge was brought back to the big leagues after 30 games with Triple-A Sacramento, where he hit .333 with five home runs and 22 RBIs with a .963 OPS.
Bryce Eldridge has eyes set on Giants’ icon status
Bryce Eldridge is aware of the weight of expectations following him. As a 21-year-old, he isn’t shying away from embracing the moments that will propel him to greatness.
“I’m just going to keep working hard because I want to be the face of this franchise,” Eldridge said. “That’s something that motivates me every day. I want to be in that moment. I want to be that guy. Having my first kind of big moment like that is very special.”
Eldridge’s home run gave the Giants only the second instance in franchise history when they trailed by eight or more runs entering the eighth inning, joining their 10-8 win (after trailing 8-0 going into the eighth) at Pittsburgh on Sept. 8, 1947.
It was also the first time since Cleveland’s 11-10 win against Tampa Bay on May 29, 2009, that a team had achieved the feat.
Edited by R. Nikhil Parshy
