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Unbelievable. Carson Kelly, you are a madman. And Michael Cerami (that’s me), you are a dork.
Tonight, in our Pre-Gamin’ post, I pointed out Miguel Amaya’s absence from the lineup in favor of Carson Kelly as a (necessary and understandable) bummer given Amaya’s hot start offensively. But I’m no rookie. I know exactly what happens when you make a statement like that. So I appended that conversation with the following: “…you just know (Carson Kelly) is gonna have a huge night now that I’ve talked up Amaya….”
Well, he had something a whole better than just a “huge night.” In fact, he made history. Tonight, Carson Kelly hit for the cycle, wrapping it up with a triple off the right-center field wall in the top of the 8th inning.
Carson Kelly Hits for the Cycle
This is the first cycle of the 2025 season and the first cycle for the Cubs since Mark Grace did it in 1993!
Carson Kelly TRIPLES and has the first cycle of the 2025 season, the first for the Cubs since 1993! pic.twitter.com/mVzqUItITP
— MLB (@MLB) April 1, 2025
Can you imagine the thoughts racing through his head as that ball careened off the right-center field wall? Cycles are hard to hit for a dozen reasons, but getting that triple is definitely the most challenging part — even tougher for a not-particularly-fast part-time catcher. But he hit it square (104.8 MPH exit velo) and far (395 feet), and in the exact perfect spot to make history. It’s funny how it feels lucky that it didn’t sneak out for a homer.
Here’s how the plate appearances worked out for Carson Kelly tonight:
- Top of the 2nd: Walk (7 pitches)
- Top of the 4th: Home Run (1 pitch)
- Top of the 5th: Single (1 pitch)
- Top of the 6th: Double (4 pitches)
- Top of the 6th: Walk (6 pitches)
- Top of the 8th: Triple (6 pitches)
Yep, he went 4-4 with two walks, a single, a double, a triple, and a homer. That’s 12 bases with 5 RBI. He also saw a total of 25 pitches tonight.
Here’s his single:
two more, thanks Carson 😊 pic.twitter.com/4ILx5YHDrf
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 1, 2025
And here’s his homer:
KEEP 'EM COMING. pic.twitter.com/YkAVmGtWz8
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 1, 2025
Carson Kelly came into the night slashing .167/.286/.167 (44 wRC+), but after this performance, he’s up to .500/.615/.1.100 (361 wRC+). LOL. That’s, uh, a pretty good night.
Carson Kelly hits the first Cubs cycle since 1993. pic.twitter.com/VLNmlwPdpO
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 1, 2025
UPDATE: A little bonus nugget for you. According to Maddie Lee, this is just the third time in MLB history that a cycle was recorded *and* the player had two walks.
written by
Michael Cerami
Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL.In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami
