I was ALREADY buzzing because of Brandon Hughes’ incredible debut (six batters faced, five strikeouts). And just getting to see Christopher Morel come to the plate was fun enough. And when he went down 0-2, with the Pirates taking advantage of his aggressiveness, I figured it was OK, this was to be expected.
But then Morel took the count to 3-2, and the Wrigley Field crowd got very loud, and very on their feet. That gave me chills, just thinking about how it must’ve felt for him. So I was happy. Perfectly content. I didn’t need more.
And then Christopher Morel did this:
The Friendly Confines can't contain Christopher Morel. pic.twitter.com/GUh9loc1jo
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 18, 2022
Out of the park. Out of the stadium. Absolutely destroyed off the bat. That is the highest and best example of what Morel can do, and he showed it in his very first big league at bat. I’m jittery. That was just so wonderful. Him losing his mind, so happy. Missing first base. His teammates going nuts. All the love.
And he even was pushed out to do a curtain call.
First MLB AB for Christopher Morel… HOMER and curtain call!!! #Cubs pic.twitter.com/fdsGNEEEDC
— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) May 18, 2022
Morel, 22, came up straight from Double-A earlier today because Jason Heyward was going on the COVID IL. No one expects this to be more than a temporary fill in, with Morel perhaps getting the promotion to Iowa when he goes back down. But that doesn’t mean he can’t thrill us in the meantime, and hey, you never know …