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Let's bridge 40 years of history in one post.  On this night in 1985, Von Hayes made history  as the first player ever to homer twice in the 1st inning.  Facing Mets righthander Tom Gorman, the Phillies left fielder led off the bottom of the inning with a solo blast, to key an offensive explosion that brought him back to the plate later in the inning -- this time with the bases loaded, against Calvin Schiraldi.  Hayes crushed the offering, giving the Phils a 8-0 lead en route to a 26-7 victory -- the highest scoring National League game in since 1944!

I wasn't at Veterans Stadium that night -- had to settle for watching on TV --  but a few months earlier, I interviewed Hayes at Spring Training in Clearwater.  Long before phone cams were a dream, I'm happy I packed my Minolta that day!

Carlos Narvaez continued building onto one of MLB's most surprising breakthroughs of 2025 -- on as big a stage as possible.  The former Yankees minor league catcher -- who got lost behind hotter prospects such as Austin Wells, Ben Rice, JC Escarra and Rafael Flores -- joined the Red Sox over the winter, then outplayed veterans Connor Wong and Blake Sobol, to become the club's everyday backstop.   Sunday night, on national TV, he faced the Yankees Carlos Rodon with two one and Boston down a run -- before his three-run homer turned the game around.

I never snapped Narvaez during his brief six-game run with the Yankees last summer.  This image is from the summer of '24, when he was splitting time between catcher and 1st base for AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre.  

The Sox are also beginning to benefit from Roman Anthony.  The longtime "can't miss" prospect made his big league debut Monday night, then produced his first two career hits Tuesday against the division-rival Rays. He'll get his chance to fill in over the next 10 days or so, while Wilyer Abreu recovers from a left oblique strain.  I caught Anthony in action a couple of summers ago with AA Portland.


One more player worth noting who was just promoted to MLB: Otto Kemp, the Phillies undrafted college prospect who's done nothing but hit since since out of little known Point Loma Nazarene College in San Diego.  Promoted when Bryce Harper went on the IL with a wrist issue, the young 3rd baseman grabbed the spotlight Monday night, with three hits, including a perfectly executed bunt single in an 11 inning over the Cubs.
Kemp didn't play when I recently caught Lehigh Valley visiting Syracuse; instead, I'll reach back to last summer when he was with the AA Reading Fightin's.









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