KANSAS CITY -- Not only did Trayce Thompson receive the authenticated baseball, he was showered with congratulatory text messages after notching his first two career hits Friday.
The White Sox rookie’s first hit came via an infield single in the sixth inning and two innings later he had a ground-rule double to left. Thompson, who was promoted to the majors on Aug. 1, said he has experienced the same volume of text messages before but those were related to his brother Klay, who won an NBA Finals championship with the Golden State Warriors in June.
“Last night was kind of crazy,” Thompson said. “I tried to respond to everyone I can. But to get texts from my brothers, my parents, was pretty cool. I always talk to them after every game and one of my good friends who plays baseball, too. It’s been kind of a whirlwind the past week. The only time my phone has gone crazy like that is when Klay had that game back in January.”
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Klay Thompson established an NBA record on Jan. 24 when he scored 37 points against the Sacramento Kings in the third quarter, the most ever for an individual in any quarter. The youngest of three brothers, all of whom have played at the highest level of their respective sports, Trayce Thompson has been inundated with media requests to discuss Klay’s success and answers them all without fail. He has enjoyed the success of his brothers (Mychel played for the Cleveland Cavaliers) and is always willing to talk. But for one night at least, the shoe was on the other foot and the outfielder didn’t mind.
“It’s just funny that people are texting me about myself instead of him,” Thompson said with a smile.