Former Notre Dame infielder [autotag]Niko Kavadas[/autotag] made his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 16.
Entering the ninth inning of Thursday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, he was hitless in his first 14 big-league at-bats. It turned out he merely was lying in the weeds waiting for the right moment to say he’d arrived.
The Angels were trailing, 5-0, with two outs in the ninth innings and runners on first and second. Kavadas, who only has been a designated hitter so far in the bigs, stepped up to the plate. After working a 1-2 count and getting down to the Angels’ final strike, Kavadas swung and, well, look what happened:
"How about that for your first Major League hit?!"
Niko Kavadas notches hit AND homer No. 1 in The Show with a powerful swing for the @Angels. pic.twitter.com/exXhjcoaZl
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 23, 2024
This also was a big moment for St. Joseph County according to local sportscaster Chuck Freeby:
Wow! @NikoKavadas is the first player that attended a St. Joe County high school to get a MLB hit since Steve Ontiveros of @SaintJoeBsball in 1989, and the first to homer since Bob Rush of @SBRileySports in 1955 https://t.co/9yByJOuOpX
— Chuck Freeby Sports (@ChuckFreeby) August 23, 2024
The Angels wound up losing, 5-3, but it was a night Kavadas never will forget. Let this be the first of many big moments for him at baseball’s highest level.
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