TAMPA -- It took a lot to get Kameron Misner to the plate in the ninth inning on Friday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
First, it took an injury. After a great Spring Training, Misner was optioned to Triple-A Durham on March 19. He had just completed a workout at Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Tuesday night when he got word that he was headed back to the big leagues to replace the injured Richie Palacios. Misner's truck is still there, but he took the first flight to Tampa on Wednesday morning to be part of the Rays¡¯ Opening Day roster.
Then, it took some maneuvering. When Josh Lowe went down with a right oblique injury in the fifth inning of Tampa Bay¡¯s season opener, manager Kevin Cash put in Jos¨¦ Caballero to replace him. That left Misner as the lone outfielder on the bench, so he was the only option to play left field in the eighth inning after Jonathan Aranda pinch-hit for Christopher Morel in the seventh.
More than anything, it took a lot of work. Misner made his debut for the Rays down the stretch last season, going 1-for-15 with 10 strikeouts while playing sparingly. Born and raised on a farm in rural southeastern Missouri, the 27-year-old spent the entire offseason training at the Maven Baseball Lab in Atlanta to clean up his swing.
That all put Misner on the unlikely path to Major League history.
Leading off the ninth inning against reliever Victor Vodnik, Misner swung at the first pitch he saw and ripped it into the right-field seats to send the Rays to a 3-2 win over the Rockies in Tampa Bay¡¯s first regular-season game at Steinbrenner Field. Misner became the first player in Major League history to hit a walk-off home run on Opening Day for his first career homer, according to Stats Perform.
¡°Baseball¡¯s a funny game. A lot can go good, and a lot can go bad,¡± Misner said afterward, clutching the ball that will soon be a keepsake for his family. ¡°Today went good for me, so it¡¯s a good day.¡±
Playing before a sold-out crowd of 10,046 at Steinbrenner Field, which looked like their home park after a quick and comprehensive makeover this week, the Rays¡¯ dugout went wild as soon as the ball left Misner¡¯s bat. Coaches had been raving about Misner¡¯s offseason adjustments since the start of Spring Training, and they paid off immediately.
¡°That¡¯s like a Hollywood movie script right there. Your first home run¡¯s a walk-off homer. You can¡¯t get any more electric than that,¡± said Ryan Pepiot, who struck out eight over six strong innings in his first Opening Day start. ¡°That was unbelievable.¡±
The Rays trailed by two after six innings, having been shut out by Rockies starter Kyle Freeland. Then the bullpens came into play, and the Rays took advantage as Aranda (sacrifice fly) and Caballero (single to left field) evened the score against reliever Tyler Kinley in the seventh.
Rays relievers Hunter Bigge and Mason Montgomery put up zeroes after Pepiot, and closer Pete Fairbanks worked around a pair of walks with a pair of strikeouts in the ninth and a clutch throw by Danny Jansen to catch pinch-runner Mickey Moniak stealing.
¡°That¡¯s as much the game as anything,¡± Cash said of Jansen¡¯s defensive play.
Then it just took one pitch, a 97.4 mph fastball inside, for Misner to end it.
It was only the second Opening Day walk-off homer in Rays history, joining Carl Crawford¡¯s three-run blast in 2003. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the fifth walk-off home run in the first regular-season game played at a stadium -- the first since Tim Anderson of the White Sox at the Field of Dreams on Aug. 12, 2021.
¡°That was pretty spectacular,¡± Cash said. ¡°I¡¯m super pumped for Kam Misner. Our dugout erupted because we love the guy so much.¡±
Standing in front of his locker afterward, surrounded by reporters, Misner was unaware of the history he¡¯d just made. The moment hadn¡¯t even fully sunk in yet, but he was mostly just happy that his family was there to see it.
Admittedly a ¡°very country¡± guy, with ostrich boots as part of his daily attire to prove it, Misner went from doing rodeo as a kid and raising cattle on the family farm all the way to the Majors. As soon as they learned Misner had made the team, his parents, Terry and Stephanie, and sister booked an equally unexpected trip to Tampa.
They were there to see it all -- the unexpected appearance, the home run, the celebratory shower on the field, a moment none of them will ever forget.
¡°Pretty surreal moment,¡± Misner said. ¡°Going into the game, that was kind of my role to be ready. ¡ I was able to be ready today, and it paid off.¡±