TORONTO -- Bo Bichette, maker of history.
In his short time in the big leagues, Bichette has altered the record books, both in Toronto and around the Major Leagues, seemingly every time he¡¯s stepped on the field.
With a home run in the fifth inning of the Blue Jays¡¯ 12-6 loss to the Yankees on Thursday -- his fourth, and first at Rogers Centre -- the 21-year-old shortstop added to his already impressive Major League resume. The long ball extended his streak of extra-base hits to nine games, making him the first rookie since Ted Williams in 1939 to accomplish the feat.
¡°We¡¯re watching history, that¡¯s what we¡¯re doing,¡± manager Charlie Montoyo said. ¡°The doubles and home runs, that¡¯s why everybody¡¯s saying, ¡®Wow.¡¯ He¡¯s fun to watch. I¡¯m glad I¡¯m here watching him. Front row.¡±
Despite the feeling of familiarity Bichette¡¯s latest accomplishments bring to a team that has seen nothing else from the young infielder during his time in the Majors, his first home run in front of a home crowd of 34,108 was one that will stick with him for at least a little while.
¡°When I hit the homer, that was the first chills moment I¡¯ve had in the big leagues so far,¡± Bichette said. ¡°Running around the bases, and the crowd was pretty loud, the loudest I¡¯ve ever had. So that was a pretty cool moment.¡±
In the sixth inning, Bichette doubled to extend his streak of two-base hits to nine games as well, the longest stretch the Majors has ever seen. The double also helped MLB Pipeline's No. 8 prospect become the first player to notch 13 extra-base hits in his first 11 games.
¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like it,¡± Montoyo said. ¡°Well, what he¡¯s doing is history, so of course I¡¯ve never seen it, but he¡¯s 21 years old [and] he¡¯s hitting [.408] and hitting doubles and home runs, so I expect him to be happy, but the energy he has anyways, that¡¯s how he plays.
¡°That¡¯s how these kids play, so it¡¯s going to be fun. I said it at the beginning of the season, whenever these kids get together, they¡¯re going to be fun to watch. Right now, it¡¯s fun to watch. If [I was a fan], I would come to the games and watch these kids play.¡±
¡°I¡¯d be lying to you if I said I thought that I¡¯d be breaking records,¡± Bichette said prior to the game. ¡°But I do expect to play well, and I think those records are a byproduct of putting in the work and going out there and being aggressive, and trying to treat the game like any other game.¡±
The home run also gave Bichette a hit in all 11 big league games he has played, extending the longest streak to begin a career in franchise history. It's the third longest such streak by a player 21 or younger, behind Rocco Baldelli -- who hit in 13 straight games in 2003 -- and Eddie Murphy, who had a 12-game streak to start his career in 1912.
A seemingly unstoppable force of nature through his career-opening streak, Bichette set an additional franchise record on Thursday with 20 hits in his first 11 games, three more than any other player.
¡°There are certain at-bats where [pitchers] are challenging me, and they¡¯ll get me out challenging me,¡± Bichette said. ¡°Then the next at-bat, they won¡¯t. There¡¯s no really rhyme or reason to what they¡¯re doing right now. Teams have tried to go in, then they¡¯ve tried to go away, they¡¯ve tried to throw breaking balls. I¡¯m just seeing the ball pretty well right now.¡±
Ahead of Thursday¡¯s matchup, Bichette set a franchise record with 18 hits in his first 10 career games, and his 1.254 OPS was the highest in Blue Jays history through any player¡¯s first 10 contests. He also joined Pete Alonso as the only players in MLB history to record 11 extra-base hits in their first 10 games.
Bichette¡¯s home run came two batters after Derek Fisher hit his second long ball in a Blue Jays uniform, and third of the season. Sandwiched between the homers was a double from catcher Reese McGuire, whose four hits surpassed his total through his first six games this season.
¡°He was taking the outside pitch and going the other way with it,¡± Montoyo said of McGuire. ¡°He wasn¡¯t pulling it. I told him, 'You can¡¯t take four hits for granted,' because that¡¯s not easy to do, four hits. That was good to see.¡±
McGuire added a home run of his own, his second of the season, in the eighth frame, coming a triple shy of the cycle. He became the 19th catcher in Blue Jays history with a four-hit game and the first since Josh Thole on Sept. 25, 2013.??
¡°It¡¯s refreshing,¡± McGuire said. ¡°It¡¯s something you want to be able to do, contribute on the offensive side, too, especially being in the nine-hole. I want to roll that order over to Bichette, Vladdy [Guerrero Jr.] and [Cavan] Biggio at the top of the order, because those guys are right there.¡±