Seby Zavala Continues To Randomly Make White Sox History

Seby Zavala may be the most confusing hitter on the White Sox. After scoring just three runs in the previous 18 innings to open the series, Zavala who came into the game with a .148 batting average and .452 OPS, accounted for five runs en route to an 11-5 victory over the Angels on Wednesday night.  

A comfortable blowout win is uncharted territory for the White Sox offense. It was the first time in 24 games that the White Sox have had a game decided by more than five runs and only the second time in their last 29 games. So it was fitting that one of the White Sox most unproductive hitters is beginning to make a habit of making history from the bottom of the batting order. 

In the second inning, Zavala got just enough of a Jaime Barria slider to send it 392 ft and over the left-center field wall. In the fifth inning, he defied physics with a home run that had a 46-degree launch angle and somehow managed to wrap around the left-field foul pole after looking like it was going to travel into foul territory off the bat. 

His multi-home run game on Wednesday night made him the first player in White Sox history with more than one multi-home run game out of the nine spot of the order in a season. His other multi-homer effort came on June 6th against the Yankees. 

It was also his third multi-home run game in his career which is the most any White Sox player has had batting ninth. 

Zavala's first multi-homer effort was a three-home run performance in 2021 against the Guardians on  July 31st. His three blasts drove in six RBIs which tied for the second-most by a White Sox hitter in the No. 9 spots in the order, trailing only Charles Johnson. He became the first player in American League and National League history to hit his first three career homers in the same game. Before the game, no White Sox catcher had ever hit three homers in a single game before Zavala.

At this point, nobody should be surprised by the random Seby strikes, despite the ugly offensive numbers this season. His two swings raised his slugging percentage by .067 points. 

Any added offense Zavala can provide is a bonus at this point. His defense behind the plate has made up for any shortcomings with the bat. According to Statcast, he currently ranks in the 81st percentile in pitch framing. He also has the second most defensive runs saved on the team at +6. Meanwhile, Yasmani Grandal has a DRS of -11 this season. 

“We’ve had some good at-bats the last few days,” Zavala said. “But today we put it together.”

The offense did indeed put it together. Luis Robert launched his 23rd home run of the season, Andrew Vaughn drove in three RBIs and every White Sox starter had a hit except for Tim Anderson, who is in the midst of an 0-for-24 slump.