Chris Marrero sent a ball over the fence in left field at Chiba's Zozo Marine Stadium, rounded the bases, and did a small hop to land on home plate with two feet during a game against the Chiba Lotte Marines on Sept. 29.
It's one thing to have what should've been your first NPB home run later ruled to be a triple because of missing home plate. But when it comes to the 100,000th home run in NPB history, it's better to be safe than sorry.
The Orix Buffaloes infielder can look back at that first would-be home run and laugh now. He'd joined the Buffaloes in late May, and was making his debut on June 9 when he crushed a pitch from the Chunichi Dragons' Shinnosuke Ogasawara. The ball left the field of play, but the Dragons noticed Marrero had missed home plate as he finished his trot around the bases.