Cleats, pants, jersey, hat. Scooter Gennett peeled off his uniform — the one still dripping from a douse of celebratory ice water — and handed every piece to a clubhouse manager. All of them were headed to Cooperstown.
All so hard to believe.
The diminutive Cincinnati native put on the greatest home run show in franchise history Tuesday night. He tied a major league record with four homers — becoming the 17th player to accomplish the feat — and matched the club mark by driving in 10 runs during a 13-1 victory over slumping St. Louis.
"It's surreal, man. It really is," Gennett said, wearing a backup set of clothes after the others were whisked away. "I'm truly blessed. I'm from here, born here. Watching all those guys play when I was little. And to do something that's never been done —I can't put words on it."
He wasn't the only one nearly speechless. No major leaguer had ever had five hits, four homers and 10 RBI in a game. Gennett's 17 total bases also were a team record.
"He had a career night, a great night," said Adam Wainwright, who gave up Gennett's second career grand slam. "Guys do that now and then. He almost beat us by himself tonight."
Gennett was the most unlikely player on the roster to turn into an historic slugger.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound infielder was claimed off waivers from Milwaukee late in spring training for a utility role. Some seasons, he barely hit four homers at all — he reached double digits only once and had 38 in his career heading into the game.
