The day all young baseball players dream of came to life for Kansas City Royals’ No. 1 prospect, Jac Caglianone, on Tuesday as he donned the No. 14 jersey and made his MLB debut in St. Louis against the Cardinals. His debut came after the lefty played in just 79 minor league games.
“It was a really cool moment,” said Caglianone of stepping onto the field for the first at-bat of his career with his family and friends all in attendance, standing up with their phones out to capture the moment. “I was just reeling it all in,” said the 22-year-old.
Caglianone was the designated hitter for Kansas City on Tuesday. Though he went 0-5 and will be forced to wait another day to try to get that illustrious first major league hit, he hit the ball hard as usual and just couldn’t catch a break and get a ball to drop or go through the infield gaps. Four out of his five hits were hit at 98.4mph, 112.1mph, 96.9mph, and 113.9mph, showing that he has the power that everyone knows he has.
He just got unlucky on a few of his swings, with the gold-glover Nolan Arenado ruining a couple of his chances and outfielder Victor Scott running down one of Caglianone’s deep drives to center that he spoiled on a diving catch to rob Caglianone of extra bases.
Though Caglianone wasn’t able to contribute offensively, he still sparked excitement out of the Royals’ bats as they defeated the Cardinals 10-7 in the series opener.
The rookie Caglianone is expected to be back in the lineup for Kansas City on Wednesday when the Royals continue their series against the Cardinals. The first pitch for that game is set for 7:45 pm EST.
Caglianone’s family is also expected to still be in attendance for the game and the remainder of the series as Caglianone continues to search for his first big league hit.
19 Florida Gators earn entries into NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The Florida Gators’ Track and Field team was in Jacksonville last weekend, competing in the NCAA East Regional. After a very strong performance, eight men and 11 women punched their tickets and will be representing the University of Florida at the National Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in two weeks.
Sophomore Gracelyn Leiseth punched her ticket in the women’s shot put with an 18.31m (60’ 1”) throw that set a personal best and was No. 1 in the East regional to win the regional and claim a ticket to the National Championships.
Alida va Daalen placed seventh and earned a spot at the National Championships with a 17.08 (56’ 0.5”) throw.
Senior Jacob Lemmon finished eighth in the discus to claim his ticket with a mark of 58.05m (190’ 5”) discus throw.
Lemmon is joined by fellow discus thrower Alida van Daalen, who threw a 59.78m (196’ 1”) throw.
For the jumpers: Jaden Lippett finished tenth with a personal best 15.94m jump to qualify for the National meet, along with Asia Phillips (13.29-meter jump), who placed third in the regional to qualify. Gators Alyssa Banales and Anthaya Charlton also qualified. Malcolm Clemons and Jaden Lippett join them.
For the sprinters/ hurdlers, Jenoah McKiver (45.29-second 400m) and Demaris Waters (110m hurdles) claimed their spots In Eugene. They are joined by Tia Wilson, who ran a new personal best of 15:47.13 in the 5000m. That mark is the No. 5 performance in Florida Gator history.
Former Gator swimmers Katie Ledecky and Bobby Finke qualify for World Championship Teams
Former Gator greats Katie Ledecky and Bobby Finke are both competing in this week’s Toyota U.S. Championships swim meet, which also serves as a World Championships qualifier.
Off to a great start, both clinched their spot on the USA World Championships team on Tuesday and are headed to Singapore to swim the world meet representing their country.
Ledecky clinched her seventh World Championships with an 8:05.76 800 meter freestyle, which was the third-fastest 800 free in performance history, just behind her own world record she set last month.
“The 800 meter was last race in Fort Lauderdale (on May 3),” she said. “And then having it the first race here, it kind of felt like I was just going right back into it. I kind of dove in, and it almost felt like muscle memory,” she stated.
By clinching a spot at her seventh World Championships, Ledecky is now the first American swimmer to swim at seven World Championships.
Fellow Gator and Olympic champion and world record holder Bobby Finke was the 1500-meter freestyle by 9.18 seconds on Tuesday. His swim clinched him a spot at the World Championships as well and marked yet another win in the 1500. Finke hasn’t lost to an American in the 1500 since 2020.