Emilio Morales hits #600 on the road.(44.16)

[niles08]

In the middle game of the Yellow Springs series, Emilio Morales came to bat in the fifth inning. He reached back a bit further and sent a Josh Henson pitch traveling 368 feet, with an exit velocity of 108.1 MPH. That pitch fell right into the outfield seats surrounded by a Yellow Springs Nine home crowd. A short scuffle of spectators rushed to the spot as soon as the ball left the bat trying to be the fan to catch #600.

A short scuffle later showed a fan emerge, but in a park surrounded by Yellow Springs fans, this fan with the home run ball was wearing an old school Indy Grasshoppers hat, the franchise that moved to Omaha.

A news crew was able to track down this fan after the game.

“We come and pay to watch the Cyclones or Hawks or whatever their name is anytime they are in this ballpark. They will always be the Indy Grasshoppers to me. We we’re nervous back during realignment that they would be shuffled out of the division and not play anymore. We don’t get out to Omaha nearly as much as we’d like to. What used to be a short drive from Richmond to Indy, now turned into an 11 hour drive to Omaha.” Said the man. “I’m just glad he hit it here. I plan to send it off to him. I didn’t hit 600 home runs, Emilio did. He deserves it.”.

Morales spoke with BNN after the game and said, "I knew number 600 would come sooner or later. I had to keep reminding myself, 'Relax, relax, just let it happen, let it happen.' And it finally did. I wish it had come at home though. I really hope that a fan of ours was able to secure the ball and can cherish it.”

“A fan of Omaha did catch it. As a matter of a fact, they want to give you the ball.” Said the BNN reporter as they showed Morales the videotape of the post-game interview with the fan.

“That would be incredible. I’ll make sure that they are fairly compensated for it. It sounds as if they need more trips to Omaha. I’m going to work a deal with them and make sure they have seats in Omaha whenever they want them as often as they want them.” Said Morales.

Morales 600th home run ended up being the only run scored in the 1-0 victory over Yellow Springs. Omaha for the first time in several years was able to capture 2 out of 3 wins while on the road in Yellow Springs.

Morales's all-time stats include: 2,139 hits, 312 doubles, 16 triples, 600 home runs and 1,519 RBIs in 1,931 games. He has a career batting average of .284 with and has scored 1,124 runs.

This season, Morales is off to a great start currently batting .296/.326/.602 with 8 dingers in just 23 games. His wRC+ is currently 152 on the season as he has already accumulated 1.1 WAR. Last season through April 28th, 2043, Morales has batted just .141 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI for a Hawks team that was 6-19.

[indiansfan]

Hector Cano says "Welcome to the 600 Club!" Only 8th guy to ever do it.

[RonCo]

You'd think he'd pay for their travel to and from Omaha, too. Skinflint.