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Gallo, Beltre, other Rangers recall their favorite HRs

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NEW YORK – Texas Rangers slugger Joey Gallo has hit 19 home runs this season, ranking fifth in the American League. For the most part, the 23-year-old infielder specializes in moonshots and tape-measure blasts, but the last one that Gallo hit was different, and it's one he'll never forget.

Wednesday in Arlington, Gallo hit a fly ball that sent Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Steve Pearce crashing into the wall. Gallo chugged around the bases and came home with an inside-the-parker, the 26th home run of his young career.

Gallo knows that may never happen again, so even though he hits plenty of titanic taters, one where he didn't get to trot ranks as one of his favorites.

"The inside-the-park home run was pretty cool," Gallo said. "You don't really expect a big guy like me to actually hit an inside-the-park home run, so I think that was the coolest one so far. That one, and my walk-off home run earlier in the year (a three-run shot off Oakland's Santiago Casilla). One was unique, one was a little more exciting and exhilarating. Those are my two favorites. I can't pick just one."

The thing about an inside-the-park home run is, you don't necessarily know it's a home run until the scoreboard confirms the official scoring on the play. So, when Gallo hit his, he had to wait a moment to know for sure.

"Usually, you hit a home run, you get to jog and it's a celebration," Gallo said. "That one was just so quick, and I kind of got in the dugout, and it's like, 'Is that an error? Did he touch it?' No one touched it and it was a home run. It was kind of weird. I was all out of breath, and usually you're not out of breath after a home run. That's a little bit of a difference."

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Gallo knows that he may never hit another home run like Wednesday's. After all, Adrian Beltre has hit 448 home runs in his career, and only one - in 2006 off Mike Timlin - was an inside-the-parker. But that's not the future Hall of Famer's top dinger.

"My favorite home run should be my first one," said Beltre, harkening back to June 30, 1998, when he was playing for the Dodgers and took Rick Helling deep in Texas. "Fastball, right down the middle of the plate. You never forget your first one. It's a special feeling and until now, it remains my number one."

Beltre stands third in home runs behind Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera on the active list. If he's able to join the 500-home-run club, might that milestone supplant the long-ago dinger?

"We'll find out when I get there," Beltre said. "If I ever get there."

Beltre's breakthrough blast came in his sixth career game, as a 19-year-old. Last year, Nomar Mazara was 20 when he made his major-league debut, and he took Jered Weaver out of the yard in his third at-bat.

"It was awesome,” Mazara said. “Running around the bases, that day, it was a special moment for me. It's always good when you leave the ballpark, but that day, my first in the major leagues - I wasn't expecting it. I was just going out there and trying to have fun and enjoy it because there's only one major-league debut that you have. When I hit it and I saw it going out, it was amazing."

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

One more Rangers player who most fondly remembers his first career home run is Cole Hamels. It's an even easier call for him, because the pitcher has hit just one home run in his career, back in 2012 with the Philadelphia Phillies.

"That same inning, I gave up a home run to Matt Cain, so to be able to hit a home run that same inning, that was special," Hamels said. "Obviously, it was the first one, and the only one so far. Running around the bases - we had a sellout, so that-s kind of exciting, too - to be able to do it in that situation, in front of the home fans that I was playing for, that is special.

"I don't get a lot of opportunities to do so, and when I do make contact, it's usually not with that type of launch angle.”

Hamels has surrendered 250 homers in his 12 seasons in the major leagues, and he has a favorite one of those, too.

"Hitting home runs is awesome, but giving up the home run to (Evan) Gattis, which was like the furthest of the year - and it's before Statcast came out, so let's say it topped whatever (Aaron) Judge just did, that was pretty impressive," Hamels said of the 2013 blast. "It pretty much went over the flagpole in Philly. I'd have to say that was pretty memorable, and I know everybody kind of gave me crap for it, but that's pretty impressive.

"If I can't hit 'em that far, if I can give 'em up that far, that's pretty significant."

Also significant would be going deep in the World Series, and that was what Mike Napoli did in the first Fall Classic game of his career, bashing a two-run shot off Chris Carpenter in 2011.

"Opposite field in St. Louis, Game 1 of the World Series, hit it pretty good," Napoli said. "Being in the World Series for the first time, hitting a ball that far to the opposite field off a No. 1 starter on top of his game, that's a memorable one for me. It was my first one. I did hit one later in the series that was kind of big, too, off (Mitchell) Boggs, at home, but that one, just because of the stage you're on, how I hit it, who I hit it against, that was pretty cool."

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