Johnny Lucadello St. Louis Browns: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
On this date (September 16) in 1940, Saint Louis Browns’ 21-year=old infielder Johnny Lucadello made a bit of baseball history. (Spoiler alert: We’re in #InBaseballWeCountEverything territory here.). On that day, as the Browns topped the Yankees 16-4 in St. Louis, Lucadello – playing second and batting second, went three-for-five with two runs scored, five RBI and two home runs. The history? Lucadello was the first switch-hitting major leaguer to hit his first two home runs from opposite sides of the plate in the same game. (At this point in his career, Lucadello was in his third MLB season and, going into the September 16 game, he had played in a career total of 23 games (63 plate appearances). His first homer in the game (a solo shot) came in the bottom of the first inning off southpaw Marius Russo (a 14-game winner that season) and the second round tripper came in the seventh frame (a two-run blast off righty Steve Sundra (the Yankees fourth pitcher of the game).
Lucadello would finish the 1940 season at .317-2-10. He would enjoy a six-season MLB career (1938-47, losing 1942-45 to military service), hitting .264-5-60 in 239 games. His best season was 1941, when he went .279-2-31 in 107 games for the Browns.
Oh, Those Lost Years
Johnny Lucadello was considered a solid prospect until a four-year stint in the military interrupted his career. From 1936-1940, he hit .312 in 557 minor-league games and was selected to his league’s All Star team each season.
I should add that hitting your first two career home runs, from opposite sides of the plate in the same game is a rare occurrence. Here are the other five instances I was able to uncover.
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U L Washington
Washington marked his third MLB season, 172nd game and 424th plate appearance before he hit his first MLB home run. It was a three-run shot in the top of the second inning of a game (September 21, 1979) in which his Royals would topple the A’s 13-4 in Oakland. It came left-handed off A’s righty Rick Langford. In his very next at bat – top of the third inning – Washington hit another three-run shot, this one right-handed off southpaw reliever Craig Minetto. Washington, playing SS and batting ninth, finished the game four-for-five with three runs scored and six RBI. The two dingers, by the way, would be the 25-year-old Washington’s only long balls in 101 games played that season. He would go .254-2-25, with 32 runs scored and ten steals.
Washington would have a 11-season MLB career (1977-87), going .251-27-255, with 358 runs scored and 132 steals. His best season was 1982, when he went .286-10-60, with 23 steals for the Royals.
What does U L stand for?
U L were not U L Washington’s initials, they were his given name.
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Bret Barberie
Barberie had his notable game on August 2, 1991 – as his Expos lost to the Phillies 6-5 (in 11 innings) in Montreal. The 23-year-old was playing SS and batting seventh. He went three-for-four with two runs and two RBI. It was Barberie’s 17th MLB game (all in 1991) and he had 26 plate appearance up to that date. His first homer came leading off the bottom of the third inning (against righty Danny Cox). The second (another solo shot) tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh (hit off left-hander Wally Ritchie). Barberie finished the season at .353-2-18 in 57 games. He played in six MLB seasons (1991-96), hitting .271-16-133. His best season was with the Marlins in 1994 (.301-5-31 in 107 games).
That Would Be A first
Bret Barberie recorded the first base hit in the expansion Marlins’ history, a first-inning single off the Dodgers’ Orel Hershiser on Opening Day (April 5) in 1993.
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Brian Simmons
Simmons, playing center field and batting in the eight spot, led the White Sox to a 13-5 win over the Royals (in Kansas City) on September 26, 1998. The 25-year-old outfielder was in his first MLB season and just his fourth MLB game (he had ten MLB plate appearances – four singles – going into the game.)
In the game, Simmons went three-for-five with two runs scored, five RBI and, of course, those two home runs. Like Lucadello, they would be Simmons ‘only home runs of the season. The first homer was a two-run shot off righty starter Brian Barber in the top of the fourth – breaking a 4-4 tie. Simmons went yard again in the seventh (off southpaw Allen McDill) – another two=run homer. He finished 1998 at .368-2-6 in five games. Simmons played in two more MLB campaigns (1999 & 2001) and put up a career line of .218-8-31 in 119 games. A ruptured Achilles tendon cut short his career.
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Aaron Miles
Miles had his “both sides now” first-two-career-homers day on April 14, 2004 – as his Rockies topped the Diamondbacks 14-4 in Denver. Miles, batting leadoff and playing second base went three-for-five with two runs scored and six RBI. He led off the bottom of the first with a home run off right-hander Elmer Dessens; then added a three-run homer of lefty Steve Randolph in the fifth. Miles had earned a late season call up in 2003, going four-for-twelve with three doubles in eight games. He had added five more MLB games and 22 plate appearances before his April 14 outburst. Miles had a solid season for the Rockies in 2005, hitting .293-6-46, with 75 runs scored in 134 games. He played nine MLB seasons (2003-2011), hitting .281-19-229. He hit a high of .317 in 134 games for the Cardinals in 2008.
Put Me In Coach
Primarily a utility infielder, Aaron Miles played every position except catcher during his MLB career. He appeared in five games on the mound, pitching five innings and putting up a 3.60 ERA.
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Yasmani Grandal
Grandal – still active – is easily the biggest name on this list. A two-time All Star the 32-year-old catcher is in his tenth MLB season. Grandal had his noted day on June 30, 2012, as his Padres topped the Rockies 8-4 in Denver. Gandalf did not wait long to make this particular page in the record books, he hit his first two career home runs (from each side of the plate in the same game) in just his second MLB game and his first MLB start. (He had one previous MLB at bat). On his big day, Grandal went two-for-four with two runs scored and three RBI. He hit a solo homer in the top of the fourth inning off lefty Christian Friedrich and a two-run homer in the sixth off right-hander Jeremy Guthrie. He went on to finish the season at .297-8-36 in 60 games. As of this writing – end do play September 16, 2021 – Grandal’s MLB line is .240-169-500. Notably, his rookie season is the only only which he had hit at .250 or better, he does however, have five seasons of 20 or more home runs (including 2012) on his resume. He now has homered from both sides of the plate in four MLB games.
Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better
Yasmani Grandal did Johnny Lucadello one better. Not only did Grandal join the list of players getting their first two career home runs, one from each side of the plate, in the same game. He is the only player whose fist two major leagues hits (of any kind) were home runs, from each side of the plate in the same game.
Primary Resources: Baseball-Reference.com; Baseball-Almanac.com
Baseball Roundtable Disclaimer: The MLB records referenced in this (and previous) posts have the potential to change as Major League Baseball recognizes and incorporates Negro League records from 1920-46 into the MLB record book.
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