One of the highlights of the Arizona Diamondbacks' 5-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Friday night was the pair of firsts that rookie outfielder A.J. Pollock had. He had a pair of hits, but he logged his first extra base hit with a double in the third inning and, more importantly, he hit his first big league homer in the sixth inning.
As can happen, when a player gets his first career home run, teammates will find a way to pick on him. This time, the joke of choice was the silent treatment. When Pollock got to the dugout, not a single teammate congratulated him. They were all on the other side. Finally they all came and gave him the love he deserved.
Pollock didn't mind. "I would have gone and celebrated by myself," he said after the game.
He felt "excited" for the but was embarrassed too. Apparently he did a little hop coming out of the batters box.
He was lucky to retrieve the ball he hit. A Giants fan caught it and gladly exchanged it for another ball that Pollock signed.
Pollock, who is known for his speed, has yet to steal a base here at the major league level. He would have had one a while back, but overslid second base and got tagged out. When told of that, he said "that's crazy."
However, he noted why that has happened. "Well you've got to get on base first," he said about actually stealing bases. "The one comes before the other, so hopefully this will stir a couple of things for me."
That is the sort of thing that he will need to do to stick here at the major league level. But for now, he can enjoy something that almost everyone dreams but only a few get to actually accomplish -- hit a home run in the major leagues.
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