It was on this date in 1989 that
Toronto right-fielder Junior Felix, became the first player in team history
(and only the 10th in American League history) to hit the first
pitch he saw in the Major Leagues for a home run. It happened in the third
inning against Kirk McCaskill of the California Angels at Exhibition Stadium in
Toronto. Although the home run gave the Jays a 2-0 lead, they would eventually
lose to the Angels in 10 innings by a 3-2 score.
Felix came to the Jays with a
lot of promise and potential that he never quite lived up to. In two seasons
with Toronto he played 237 games, batted .261, hit 24 home runs and 111 RBIs.
But his defense was sub-par and despite having blinding speed, he was a
horrible base runner (in his six-year career, he stole 49 bases but was caught
40 times).
His greatest contribution to the
Blue Jays came in the off-season of 1990-91 when he was traded to the Angels
for centre-fielder Devon White, who would become a major piece of the 1992 and
1993 World Series Championships.
After leaving Toronto, Felix
played two years with the Angels, one with the Florida Marlins and one with the
Detroit Tigers. He played a total of 585 games, his Big League career over by
the age of 26.
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