Eduardo Valencia Homers in First MLB At-Bat for Tigers

Eduardo Valencia hit a 425-foot home run to center field in his first major league plate appearance on July 9. The 26-year-old catcher entered as a pinch hitter for Kerry Carpenter in the seventh inning against Hogan Harris and sent the ball out to cap the scoring in the Tigers' 4-1 victory over the Athletics. Valencia became the 10th Detroit player to homer in his first career plate appearance.

He is the first Tigers player to do so since Akil Baddoo on April 4, 2021. The Tigers called him up from Triple-A Toledo earlier that day because catcher Dillon Dingler was recovering from a bruised right hand. Valencia remained in the game as the designated hitter after the homer.

He was hit by a pitch from Mark Leiter Jr. in his second plate appearance. The Tigers signed Valencia in 2018 at age 18, and he appeared in 439 games over eight-plus seasons in the minors before his debut.

The native of Valencia, Venezuela, pointed to the sky and pounded his chest as he rounded the bases. He pointed to his wife in the stands and made a heart symbol with his hands before hugging her on the field after the game. Teammates dumped a bucket of water on him as remaining fans cheered.

Valencia said his thoughts were with his parents, who could not attend, and with the people of Venezuela recovering from a double earthquake on June 24 that killed at least 920 and injured 3,360. "I was waiting a lot for this, for my family, for Venezuela, and I'm so excited," he said.