Phillies’ Bryce Harper, Other No. 1 Picks Align For Historic Home Run Parade

When Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson hit his sixth home run of the season in Wednesday afternoon's showdown with the Milwaukee Brewers, it didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary.

But that homer was the first of many on a historic day across MLB.

A few hours later, Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday dealt the Cleveland Guardians a crushing blow with a grand slam. Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Henry Davis went yard against the Washington Nationals shortly after, followed by Philadelphia Phillies superstar Bryce Harper hitting a home run versus the San Francisco Giants.

The final home run by any big league player on Wednesday came from Colorado Rockies outfielder Mickey Moniak, who cut the Los Angeles Dodgers' lead to one in the third inning of that contest.

Torkelson, Holliday, Davis, Harper and Moniak were already tied together in the history books before they all hit home runs on the same day. Each of them went No. 1 overall in their respective MLB Drafts, ranging from 2010 through 2022.

According to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, this marks the sixth time in MLB history that five-plus No. 1 overall picks have hit a home run on the same day.

Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Joe Mauer, Josh Hamilton and Pat Burrell all did so on Aug. 7, 2009. The same quintet – plus Chipper Jones, minus Mauer – achieved the feat on Sept. 7, 2007. The other three occurrences all came between 1998 and 1999.