The game had not yet started and Yordan Alvarez was already making an impression with his bat.
During batting practice on Tuesday before the Houston Astros faced the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, the 27-year-old hitter hit a home run to right field. The ball was hit so far and with such force that it struck the big screen in right field at the Trop, causing a disturbance, according to multiple reports.
Nine minutes before first pitch, the screen went completely black. It was dark when the game began at 6:50 p.m. ET. The functioning scoreboard in center field showed the score of the game, along with the number of batters and the number of outs. A scoreboard in left field showed the type of pitch, the speed of the pitch and the number of strikes. As the game began, hits and cheers could be heard on the video board in right field from highlight clips, but without video.
According to a Rays spokesman, work is underway on the right field big screen so it can be restored.
The big screen in right field at Tropicana Field was completely black before the first pitch of the Astros-Rays game on Tuesday. (Photo: Chandler Rome / The Athletic)
The distance between home plate and the right field wall, where the big screen sits, is 382 feet.
Alvarez rarely takes batting practice on the field, although that’s not unusual. Many players avoid batting practice on the field and instead do all their preparation indoors or in the batting cage.
Alvarez has previously destroyed a big screen with a home run during batting practice. On August 24, 2019, at Minute Maid Park before the game against the Los Angeles Angels, Alvarez damaged the El Grande right-field scoreboard with a home run during batting practice. The home run traveled 455 feet, according to an Astros spokesman, with the ball damaging a small LED square in the lower right corner.
Alvarez entered Tuesday with a batting average of .308/.395/.562, along with 25 home runs and 64 RBIs this season. Alvarez, a 2024 All-Star, was named American League co-player of the week along with teammate Alex Bregman on Monday after Alvarez hit 9-of-21 home runs with five home runs last week.
Required reading
(Photo: Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
