Drafted in the 32nd round as the 965th overall pick of the 2019 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, second baseman Chandler Redmond hasn’t advanced higher than Double-A ball in his two years as a pro baseball player. (Redmond and the rest of the minor leaguers didn’t play ball in 2020 thanks to the pandemic.)
Even if that doesn’t change and the 25-year-old ends his career in the minors, his name will forever live on in baseball’s record books as the St. Louis infield prospect was able to complete MLB’s rarest feat during a 21-4 win for the Springfield Cardinals over the Amarillo Sod Poodles.
On a night that saw him collect five hits and 11 RBI, Redmond hit a solo, two-run, three-run and grand slam to collect a home run cycle. It was just the second time the feat has been accomplished in pro baseball. (Tyrone Horne of the Arkansas Travelers, a Class AA affiliate of the Cardinals at the time, did it against San Antonio in 1998.)
“It’s unbelievable. I don’t even know what words to use to describe the feelings right now,” Redmond said. “It’s just mind-blowing to think that I’m just the second guy to ever [hit for the home run cycle]. I actually just talked about it with my dad. He’s just so proud of me and he gets so much joy out of watching me play. He’s watched every single college game and pro game, and I know it’s what he looks forward to most at night. So to be able to put on a show like this for him is pretty special.”
In addition to being a special night for Redmond, the drubbing of Amarillo was memorable for his team as well as the Cardinals collected 21 runs on 21 hits and mashed eight home runs overall as a ballclub. Springfield’s eight dingers and 21 runs set single-game franchise records.
“Hitting is so contagious,” Redmond said. “Tonight, everyone was just so loose in the dugout — having fun, playing the game, no pressure. You just go up there and trust your preparation and play a little more loose and let your natural abilities take over. I think that’s what we did tonight, and I think we’re just a really good hitting ballclub and it showed.”
Hopefully the 25-year-old lefty out of Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C., who came into his career game hitting .228 with 13 homers, will get a shot in the majors, but history is not on his side. Horne, the first batter to bash the home run cycle, never made it past Class AAA while playing for seven MLB organizations, according to The New York Times.
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