Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin celebrated his 20th birthday with his first Major League home run on Friday night at American Family Field in Milwaukee. He smashed a Statcast-projected 386-foot drive to the opposite field off a middle-middle fastball from Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff. The milestone came in his 20th career game.
Griffin received the silent treatment from his Pirates teammates upon returning to the dugout, but he kept the celebration going solo. He donned the team's welding mask used for home run festivities and high-fived the air as he walked down the steps. No formal birthday party followed the moment, which highlighted his quick adaptation to the big leagues. Griffin became just the fourth player to hit a home run on his birthday at age 20 or younger, joining Aramis Ramirez in 1998, Buddy Lewis in 1936, and Fred Carroll in 1884. He is the eighth player in the Wild Card era since 1994 to notch his first career homer on his birthday and the 25th overall, also the youngest to do so. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the No. 1 prospect in baseball. The right-handed hitter debuted on April 3 with an RBI double in his first plate appearance and signed a record nine-year extension with Pittsburgh on April 8. Entering Friday, he had batted .182 with eight RBIs over 19 games. Last season in the minors, Griffin hit 21 home runs across 122 games at three levels.
