Fastball

Blue Jays' George Springer Moved Up Prestigious List in Baseball History This Week

The Toronto Blue Jays were shut out by the Oakland Athletics on Saturday, but slugger George Springer made some baseball history with his home run on Friday night.

Brady Farkas

Toronto Blue Jays right fielder George Springer (4) hits a home run against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at Rogers Centre on Aug 9.
Toronto Blue Jays right fielder George Springer (4) hits a home run against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at Rogers Centre on Aug 9. / Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
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The Toronto Blue Jays lost 1-0 to the Oakland Athletics on Saturday afternoon, but they beat the A's on Friday night by a score of 3-1.

In the Friday win, Blue Jays' slugger George Springer moved up a prestigious list in baseball history, according to @StatsCentre on social media:

Most career home runs hit at home when batting from the leadoff position - MLB history:
133- Rickey Henderson
120- Mookie Betts
102- George Springer (Via going deep to start tonight's 3-1 @BlueJays win vs OAK)
101- Charlie Blackmon
94- Ian Kinsler
93- Craig Biggio
90- Bobby Bonds

Springer has had a propensity throughout his career for starting games with a bang, and that's what he did on that day. The 34-year-old Springer is hitting just .221 this season, but he has still provided plenty of pop, hitting 14 homers. He's also driven in 42 runs and has 13 stolen bases.

In the 11th year of his career with the Houston Astros and Blue Jays, Springer is a lifetime .264 hitter. The Connecticut native has 256 career home runs. He's a four-time All-Star, and a two-time Silver Slugger. Springer also helped the Astros win the 2017 World Series and was named World Series MVP.

He signed with the Blue Jays before the 2021 season and will be a free agent after the 2026 campaign.

Toronto will be back in action on Sunday afternoon with the first pitch coming at 1:37 p.m. ET. JP Sears will pitch for the A's while Chris Bassitt goes for the Jays. Sears is 9-8 with a 4.35 ERA while Bassitt is 9-10 with a 3.95.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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