No this isn’t 1993 and no that isn’t a picture of a young Alex Rodriguez. This is Joe Dunand and he’s Alex Rodriguez’s nephew. Recently Dunand did something that even Alex has never done and that’s homer in 8 straight at-bats on 8 straight pitches.
The Miami Herald was the first to report the amazing statistics:
At this weekend’s Horizon National Tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz., Dunand — the 18-year-old nephew of New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez — finished 10-for-12 at the plate with nine home runs, including round-trippers on his final eight swings.
Here’s what Dunand’s Prep baseball coach had to say about the feat:
“It’s the most unbelievable thing,” said Gulliver Prep coach Javier Rodriguez. “I’ve never seen anything like that. It looked like a video game at one point. It didn’t matter what they were trying to throw him, everything was gone.”
“I hope he continues what he was doing out here, but nothing is going to top this. Not even if he is a major-league 15-year All-Star, he won’t be able to top this.”
Dunand looks a lot like his uncle when he’s on the field. He is a 6’3″ 200lb shortstop and 3rd baseman with obvious power. It’ll be interesting to see how A-Rod’s troubles hinder the development of Dunand’s career or if he is able to shake the shadow of A-Rod and PEDs.
Dunand will be eligible for the MLB Draft this year but has already committed to NC State for college.