Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Randal Grichuk accomplished a rare-but-thrilling feat during his team's game against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday.
Grichuk pinch hit for designated hitter Pavin Smith in the bottom of the fifth inning of the Diamondbacks' 7-1 win over the Royals at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. He lined out in his first at-bat, but he made up for it with a runner on in the bottom of the eighth.
The box score shows that Grichuk hit a 395-foot home run to right-center field. What it does not show is that the ball never left the ballpark.
Grichuk's deep fly ball took a wild bounce off the wall and skipped into center field, where no defender was standing. That allowed him to cruise to an easy inside-the-park home run.
GRICHUK INSIDE-THE-PARK HOMER!!!! pic.twitter.com/PnmS6neCLs
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 5, 2025
The inside-the-park homer is more commonly seen with players who have elite speed, which Grichuk does not. What he got was a once-in-a-lifetime bounce.
Grichuk missed a traditional home run by only a few feet, so it was only fitting that he got credit for one anyway.
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