And so, Peter Alonso, as he was often called back then, entered professional baseball as a relative afterthought. The MLB Network broadcast compared him to CJ Cron. This was a hulking slugger with question marks, a middling athlete with a high offensive bar to clear. Consider it cleared.

The record-setting blast was a 112.8 mph line drive on the first pitch of his second at-bat against Strider that narrowly cleared the right-center field wall into the Braves' bullpen. Alonso let out a smile as he rounded third base and he was met on the infield warning track as his teammates poured out of the dugout.