Chicago White Sox third baseman Mike Olt hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning of Wednesday's 9-4 win over the Oakland Athletics, becoming the first player ever to homer for both the White Sox and crosstown-rival Chicago Cubs in the same season, per MLB Stat of the Day.
The 27-year-old Olt is just the 14th player and sixth position player to even suit up for both Chicago teams during the same season, with catcher Josh Paul (2003) the last to do so, per MLB.com.
Olt opened his season as the Cubs' starting third baseman, with the caveat that top prospect Kris Bryant was expected to take over at some point in April or May.
Olt still had a nice opportunity to make an impression in the majors, until he was hit by a pitch during an April 11 game against the Colorado Rockies, then diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his wrist a few days later.
Bryant was called up shortly thereafter, and he quickly emerged as the favorite to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award, which he now appears to be a near lock for.
Olt, meanwhile, was unable to play in games for two months, then had an extended stint with Triple-A Iowa from late June through the end of August.
He posted a middling .265/.330/.460 batting line for Iowa while continuing to strike out at a high rate (30.3 percent of plate appearances), leading the Cubs to designate him for assignment Aug. 31 when they needed a free spot on the 40-man roster.
The White Sox claimed him off waivers Sept. 5, with manager Robin Ventura saying that Olt will likely get most of the playing time at third base for the rest of the season, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Even after Wednesday's homer, the results so far have been unimpressive, with Olt striking out 12 times in 35 at-bats and owning a .257/.316/.343 batting line since joining the White Sox.
His power has never been in question, but he now has a whopping 131 strikeouts in 308 career big-league at-bats.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments