Chicago

Ian Happ Notches Memorable First Career Hit vs. Cardinals

Ian Happ made his MLB debut on Saturday afternoon for the Chicago Cubs, and he made sure that it was a good one as he joined an exclusive club with a memorable first career hit.

Happ, who was one of the top ranked prospects in the Cubs’ system even before he slugged five home runs in spring training, came up to bat in the eighth inning with a runner on base, and he notched his first career hit with a home run as he blasted the ball over the right field wall:

The home run was Happ’s first career hit as a big leaguer, and it came just one at-bat after a questionable decision robbed him of that big hit. On a sharp ground ball to first base, Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter missed a ball off the bat of Happ, but the official scorer ruled the play an error instead, keeping Happ from getting on the board.

Fortunately for Happ and the Cubs, his actual first career hit was much more memorable, and he joined some select company with the blast. According to Christopher Kamka of Comcast Sportsnet Chicago, Happ is just the fifth Cubs player in the last 10 seasons to hit a home run in his first career game, joining Jorge Soler (2014), Javier Baez (2014), Starlin Castro (2010), and Kosuke Fukudome (2008).  

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