Daniel Palka turns 27 today; his age now matches his rookie home run total for the White Sox.
Drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 3rd round in 2013, traded to the Twins in November 2015 and selected off waivers by the White Sox in November 2017, Palka’s sudden breakout caught a lot of people by surprise.
Minor league success was nothing new to Palka – he hit 34 home runs over two levels in the Twins system as recently as 2016. But as a 26-year-old heading into the 2018 season, he had yet to have a taste of the Majors.
Palka was 3-for-25 (.120) with one home run during spring training, then hit .286 with 3 home runs in 17 games with Charlotte (AAA) before being called up in late April when Avisaíl García went on the DL with a strained right hamstring.
He had a rough go of it — 0 for 8 with an RBI (a groundout) — in his first two MLB games before breaking out in game one of an April 28 doubleheader at Kansas City. The lefty slugger went 4-for-5 with a home run, the first White Sox player with a four-hit game within his first three career MLB games since Jim Busby on May 4, 1950.
Through his first 20 games, he was hitting .284/.304/.567 with three home runs, but what was more surprising was that he also had three triples. Palka was the first White Sox player with three triples in his first 20 career MLB games since Frank Thomas (who didn’t hit his first home run until his 25th career game).
Palka had a knack for the dramatic. On Aug. 10, he struck out three times and then hit a walkoff home run to win the game 1-0, the first time the White Sox ever won 1-0 on a walkoff home run. He finished with four pinch hit home runs, a White Sox record as well as an American League rookie record. Palka also tied Jason Kipnis, Justin Smoak and Giancarlo Stanton for the Major League lead with six 9th inning home runs for the season.
MLB
Arguably his best month was September, where he led the team in home runs (8) and RBIs (14). He even tied Yoán Moncada for the team lead in walks (10), adding an element in his offensive repertoire which hadn’t really been present to that point.
By the end of 2018, Palka was a White Sox fan favorite with 27 home runs – a new team rookie record for a left-handed hitter. The South Side is excited to see what he can do in a full season in 2019.