5 Things You Should Know About Henry Urrutia
Wednesday night, the Baltimore Orioles got their sixth walk-off home run of the season and their third in the past week. Sure, this home run was special because it was of the walk-off variety but there's more to it. It came from an unlikely source, Henry Urrutia.
In honor of Henry Urrutia's walk-off home run on a 1-2 pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to take down the Mets (for the first time since June 2009) on Wednesday night, we're taking a look at a few more exciting stats for the Oriole.
Here are 5 Things You Should Know About Henry Urrutia:
1. First things first, Henry Urrutia is a Cuban defector. A defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one entity in exchange for allegiance to another, in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. Players attempting to play in MLB often choose not to defect to the United States, because establishing residency in the United States means they must enter the draft. If they defect to another nation, they can become free agents, allowing them to choose their offer.
2. Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent in 2012. Urrutia then reported to the Bowie Baysox of the Double-A Eastern League in April 2013. After playing 52 games there, the Orioles promoted him to the Norfolk Tides of the Triple-A International League on June 28.
3. Baseball is in his blood. Urrutia is the son of Ermidelio Urrutia and a cousin of Osmani Urrutia -- both are Cuban outfielders.
4. Urrutia is just the fifth Oriole to have his first career home run be a walk-off; he joins Merv Rettenmund (1968), Jim Hardin (1969), Dave Criscione (1977) and Chris Hoiles (1990).
5. His game-changing walk-off home run was impressive, but what some are finding was even more impressive was his transition to America. Urrutia came to America just over two years ago, but he has become fluent in English.
His teammates were proud of him, not just for the win they all shared, but for this moment. They all remember their first career home run. Adam Jones had some words for him on Twitter:
His home run ball, given to Henry by a Mets fan, is going to someone very special -- his 16-month old son.
SEE RELATED: Urrutia HR In 9th Inning Gives Orioles 5-4 Win Over Mets
You can watch Adam Jones slap a celebratory pie in Urrutia's face mid-interview right here.
