Watch Speedy Texas Rangers Rookie Score On Inside-The-Park Homer, And It Wasn't Even Close

Texas Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford has been waiting to hit his first MLB home run. He did it the hard but fun way in the 1st inning against the Cincinnati Reds.

Apr 28, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers designated hitter Wyatt Langford (36) rounds the / Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

ARLINGTON, Texas — As talented as Wyatt Langford is — and there's little doubt that he's one of MLB's brightest young rising stars — nothing has come too easy for him in his first month in the Majors.

And so it went with his first home run. The 22-year-old rookie showed off his speed on a two-run, inside-the-park homer in which a throw home wasn't even attempted.

On the eighth pitch of a 3-2 count against Cincinnati Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott, Langford belted a fastball on the outer edge of the plate 378 feet to the base of the wall in right-center field. Langford hit the pitch with an exit velocity of 101.4 mph, which under normal circumstances would have likely been too hard-hit for Langford to score as much as a double.

When the ball hit the wall, however, it took an awkward and speedy ricochet away from both outfielders converging on the ball.

That's one way to record your first MLB home run! 💨 pic.twitter.com/j0VBpHmEG9

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) April 28, 2024

By the time right fielder Jake Fraley's relay throw made it to shortstop Elly De La Cruz in the infield Langford had already rounded third base and was closing in on the home plate. Cruz didn't even have a play so he held onto the ball.

Langford rounded the bases in about 14 seconds and turned on the afterburners once he saw third base coach Tony Beasley waving him home. He covered the final 90 feet in about three seconds, according to video footage. The two-run homer gave the Rangers a 4-0 lead.

Langford is the fourth player in Rangers history to record an inside-the-park home run for his first MLB homer. He joins Josh Smith (July 11, 2022) against the Athletics, Craig Gentry (Sept. 23, 2011) against the Mariners, and Marc Sagmoen (April 17, 1997) at the Royals.

Langford was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft and rocketed through the Rangers minor league system last summer. He earned an Opening Day roster spot after a tremendous spring training and has played well during the first month of the season. But the young slugger has at times struggled at the plate, in part, because he leads the Majors in a dubious category so far in 2024: Called strikes by umpires on pitches that should have been called balls. Entering Sunday's series finale against the Reds, of the 98 strikes called against Langford, 21 were out of the zone. That's three more than the next-closest batter, the Dodgers Mookie Betts.

.@langford_wyatt can FLY! 🏃‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/u1tCLb6vnX

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) April 28, 2024

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