Chicago Cubs Slugger Joins Unique Home Run Club in St. Louis Cardinals Finale

Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch hit a home run against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

He helped the Cubs defeat the Cardinals and claim a victory in Shota Imanaga’s return to the starting rotation.

But his home run did much more than that. It made history — in a quirky way.

More News: Cubs 'Most Improved' Player Biggest Factor in Team's Offensive Success

By homering in Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Thursday, he became the first player named Busch to hit a home run in Busch Stadium, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.

That doesn’t just include the current Busch Stadium, which opened in 2006. It also includes the previous Busch Memorial Stadium, which hosted the Cardinals from 1996-2005, and Sportsman’s Park, which was renamed Busch Stadium in 1953 after Anheuser-Busch bought the team.

A search at baseball-reference.com shows that only two other players with the surname Busch are in the database. One is Ed Busch, who played from 1943-45 and never hit a home run. The other is, oddly enough, Mike Busch, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995-96 and hit seven home runs.

More News: Cubs Reliever Elects Free Agency After Clearing Waivers

He played one game at St. Louis in 1995 but didn’t have an official plate appearance. He played two games at St. Louis in 1996 and had two hits in six at-bats.

Langs also did the research and found there is a club of hitters that have hit home runs at stadiums they share a name with.

For instance, Chase Utley has hit four home runs at Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. She even dug into current ballparks and their former names to find connections.

More News: Cubs Should Aggressively Address Starting Pitching Need Ahead of Deadline

For instance, San Francisco’s Oracle Park used to be called Pacific Bell Park and former slugger David Bell hit seven home runs there before the name change.

Busch came out of Thursday’s game with a slash of .273/.363/.506 and an .869 OPS as he’s putting together a stronger second season with Chicago. He also has 13 home runs and 46 RBI. He’s on pace to set career highs across the board.

His career season is lost amid the high-wire act that is the Cubs’ offense. Two outfielders — Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker — along with catcher Carson Kelly, advanced out of phase one and are competing for starting spots in next month’s All-Star Game.

For more Cubs news, head over to Cubs On SI.