On Tuesday, the Twins righty joined Ohtani in the very small group of pitchers who’ve hit homers this season. Well, that’s technically true. But there’s more to it.
Fitzgerald, a rookie utilityman who has appeared in just 14 games this season as an infielder, designated hitter and pinch-runner, took the mound for the Twins in the eighth inning of a game in which they were trailing the Angels, 12-0. He tossed a scoreless inning and allowed two hits to tally his second scoreless mound appearance of the season.
When he came to bat in the top of the ninth — still as the Twins’ pitcher — he clubbed a two-run homer off Angels lefty Brock Burke to account for Minnesota’s only runs in the 12-2 loss. That made him the second “pitcher” to homer this season, along with Ohtani.
Though Ohtani has made such two-way spectacles seem normal, they’re definitely not. The last full-time pitcher to hit a homer was the Giants’ Logan Webb on the final day of the 2021 season, the last season before the DH became universal. The last time someone other than Ohtani hit a homer while in the game as a pitcher was Isiah Kiner-Falefa for the Yankees in 2023.
