The Oakland A’s history books continue to possess the name of Zack Gelof as of late.
Since his debut on July 14, the 23-year-old rookie second baseman continues to rack up his numbers. The most recent took place on Thursday night in the, 8-5, win over the Chicago White Sox. Gelof hit his 10th home run of the season in 35 games, making him the quickest to reach 10 homers in A’s history.
Zack Gelof crushes his 10th home run!
He reaches 10 homers quicker than any player in A's history (35 games). ⚾️💣pic.twitter.com/Wb2fn151PU
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) August 25, 2023
He beats out legendary Bash Brother, Mark McGwire who hit 10 home runs in the first 41 games of his career over the 1986 and 1987 seasons. In McGwire’s official rookie season of 1987, he hit a then-rookie record 49 home runs.
Heading into Thursday’s game, Gelof ranked fourth in average (.295) second (nine), and tied for second with eight stolen bases among MLB rookies with a minimum of 100 plate appearances.
“It’s great,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said after the game. “He’s shown us signs during spring training that he did everything possible to make this team. We felt like he needed a little bit more time in Triple-A. He went to Triple-A, didn’t put his head down, didn’t mope, didn’t pout, worked his tail off there, he’s getting his opportunity now to kind of show us why he should have started the season here, but it’s good — it’s a great sign for Shea [Langeliers], for Zack, for Lawrence [Butler] to be here and kind of start forming their identity and their culture.”
Gelof’s defensive prowess also puts him in the category of one of the brightest spots of the A’s in recent years, but it’s his makeup that is the all-encompassing cherry on top.
Veterans are picking his brain on how to improve and you wouldn’t know he hadn’t been with the squad the entire season.
