If you’d told me last November that Alexander Canario would have a game the following September that featured a double and a grand slam, I would have hoped that it was because Canario was finally getting the rust shaken off at Triple-A Iowa, and was setting things up for a good bounce-back year in 2024. If you’d insisted, no, this game happened in MLB, I wouldn’t have believed it. You, of course, would have assured me that it was real, and I would’ve said, ok, but how. And I would’ve said it loudly with wide eyes.
Last November, in a freak accident at first base, Canario injured his shoulder and destroyed his ankle. Each injury was serious enough to require surgery, and it would have been FOOLISH to presume he could return to his same level of effectiveness at Triple-A, even if that’s very much what we all hoped for. So for Canario to come back as fully as he did at Triple-A, to then get the call up to the big leagues just 10 months after that injury, and to do last night what he did? It’s unbelievable. I’m still shaking my head thinking through all the has happened in the last year.
“It’s surreal. I really have no words,” Canario said via team translator Fredy Quevedo, per Cubs.com. “Just to think back, in January I was in a boot and I was on a scooter to move around. And now I hit a grand slam in the big leagues. It’s just a surreal moment.”
More from the first big league start of Canario’s career …
- Canario’s first hit on the night was his RBI double, clubbed so hard (104.4 mph) that it ate up the left fielder:
- And the grand slam was of course also well struck, but Statcast didn’t register the data for it – I can only assume that’s because the ballpark was rocking too much:
- The most impressive thing about that homer is how easy it looked. Canario had to reach on that one, and didn’t really look like he clobbered it. But he has so much easy power that as long as he gets the barrel on it, the ball has a chance to fly.
- Two bits of history in the game for Canario. One for Cubs players:
- And one for all of MLB:
- I absolutely love Miguel’s calls of big moments:
- The Cubs Productions treatment:
- And the post-win interview treatment:
- Michael has fun:
- Would you believe that was the SECOND young outfielder to hit a notable grand slam this year at Wrigley Field while wearing number four? You remember this one: