Matt Davidson may have launched 26 homers through the 2017 season, but before yesterday, the 27-year-old White Sox third baseman had just 29 Major League long balls to his name.
Of course, his Opening Day performance against the Royals yesterday padded that total by quite a bit:
ICYMI: @matt_davidson24 hit three homers and drove in five runs on #OpeningDay to top the Royals, 14-7! pic.twitter.com/AD7b4CFm3x
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) March 30, 2018
Three homers on Opening Day is impressive enough, but each of those were absolutely DEMOLISHED:
Homer #1: 115 MPH, 435 feet
Homer #2: 114 MPH, 426 feet
Homer #3: 114 MPH: 376 feet
That’s a total of 1,237 feet! My word. And that’s not even the best part! Check out those Giancarlo Stanton-like exit velocities! When the weakest homer you hit on a particular day is 114 MPH, you’re doing something right.
Altogether, Davidson went 3-4 at the plate with a walk (cowards), so his super-early season slash line is a laughable .750/.800/3.000. Yes, his OPS right now is 3.800. Like I said, laughable.
It’s hard to believe that on a day where the first pitch of the season left the park (and sent me swimming in Lake Michigan), Giancarlo Stanton hit two homers in his Yankees’ debut, and Eduardo Nunez hit an inside-the-parker in less than 16 seconds, someone else could steal the homer spotlight, but Davidson definitely qualifies.
What a game.