J.T. Realmuto hits first HR for the Phillies in All-Star Game in 40 years
from Sportsnaut and by Vincent Frank and from YardBarker at www.yardbarker.com
(J.T. Realmuto, the former Greensboro Grasshoppers’ catcher and a member of the Hoppers’ 2011 South Atlantic League Championship team.)
J.T. Realmuto is among the best backstops in Major League Baseball. Gregory Soto of the Detroit Tigers found that out first-hand in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game at Coors Field in Colorado.
JAWN. TORCHED.#AllStarGame | #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/n9k7VbfROq
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 14, 2021
With the American League up 4-0, Realmuto took a Soto pitch deep with a 430-foot blast over the right field fence to put the National League on the board.
(Realmuto the first Phillie to homer in the MLB All-Star Game since Mike Schmidt did it, back in 1981.)
**********Prior to the 2011 season, the Miami Marlins farm director Jim Fleming and scouting director Stan Meek pushed Andy Haines, then the manager of the Class A Greensboro Grasshoppers, to promote Realmuto to the team. He spent spring training working with Marlins catching instructor Tim Cossins, and was assigned to the Grasshoppers to start the season. Realmuto split time behind the plate with Wilfredo Gimenez, and when he was not catching, he would appear as a designated hitter. He excelled both offensively and defensively in his 96 games with Greensboro; in addition to batting .287 with 12 home runs and 49 RBIs, Realmuto successfully picked off 42 percent of attempted base stealers. Realmuto also helped take the Grasshoppers to a South Atlantic League championship title, scoring a critical RBI in the final round against the Savannah Sand Gnats.*********
++++++++++Former Greensboro Grasshoppers pitcher Trevor Rogers(Miami Marlins) was also in the MLB All-Star Game last night, and Rogers worked one inning for the National League/Senior Circuit, and Rogers gave up two runs, on two hits, and struck out one batter….++++++++++