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Puerto Rico native Francisco Lindor hits home run in front of adoring San Juan crowd

Jason Owens
Staff writer

On Tuesday, the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians took the field at San Juan’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium for the first of two regular season games to be played in Puerto Rico this week.

It’s the first regular-season MLB series to be played in Puerto Rico in eight years and a nod to the island’s love for baseball, contribution to MLB and its continued recovery effort from last year’s devastating Hurricane Maria that still sees the island in need of assistance.

Baseball Almanac lists 30 Puerto Rican-born players who played in MLB in 2017. One of those players is Indians All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor, who hosted a baseball clinic at his former grade school ahead of Tuesday’s game.

Cleveland’s Francisco Lindor delivered a special moment Tuesday, hitting a home run in his native Puerto Rico in front of a packed stadium. (AP)
Cleveland’s Francisco Lindor delivered a special moment Tuesday, hitting a home run in his native Puerto Rico in front of a packed stadium. (AP)

When he stepped to the batter’s box Tuesday in the fifth inning, he took Twins starter Jake Odorizzi deep for a two-run home run to break a 0-0 tie and start a party in San Juan.

It was his second home run of the season, a moment that brought the Hiram Bithorn Stadium crowd to its feet and led to a curtain call for Lindor after an enthusiastic celebration with his teammates.

Lindor was clearly hyped about playing in front of his home fans during pregame introductions. To be able to deliver at the plate like he did made for a cool moment in San Juan.

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