A's Rookie Nick Kurtz Goes Sicko Mode On Astros, Makes MLB History
Kurtz became the first rookie with 4 HRs in a game.
There's a good chance you've never heard of Athletics rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz until now. But after what he did Friday night, you won't soon forget the name.
The dude is a 6’5", 240-pound unit who just broke into the big leagues this year. He hasn’t even played 70 games yet, but he’s been putting up solid numbers for the A’s (who still don’t have a permanent home).
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But on Friday night, the man affectionately known as "The Big Amish" (he was born in Lancaster, PA) almost single-handedly dismantled the Houston Astros - and made history in the process.
- 6-for-6 (great night)
- 8 RBIs (really great night), and
- 4 home runs
Hold up…what was that last part?
It’s not a joke. Kurtz, who is still at the tender age of 22, pummeled the Astros (a top-five team in the MLB) for four dingers IN THE SAME GAME.
"It still really hasn’t set in that it actually just happened," Kurtz said after the 15-3 win. "A game like that is stuff you don’t even dream about, because it doesn’t really happen. It’s an unbelievable feeling."
Kurt wasn’t kidding about the "it doesn’t really happen" part. Thanks to his inability to keep the ball in the park, he became the first rookie to hit four home runs in a game, and the first A’s player to ever do it.
Not Matt Chapman. Not Rickey Henderson. Not Mark McGwire. Just an inexperienced rookie with a killer nickname.
"Everybody was just laughing," said A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson. "Like, ‘How is he doing it?’ This is not normal. He’s playing a different sport than us right now. It’s T-ball, what he’s doing out there right now. It’s ridiculous. You’ve never seen anything like this."
And we probably won't see anything like this again for quite some time.