Los Angeles Angels player hit one of the craziest home runs baseball fans had seen

There is simply no way the 39,313 fans at Angel Stadium could have expected what was going to happen when they arrived at the ballpark for Tuesday night’s Angels-Rays game in Anaheim, California.

In addition to seeing LA rookie Reid Detmers throw a no-hitter, the fans witnessed one of the craziest home runs hit in Major League Baseball history.

With the Angels leading 8-0 in the eighth inning, Tampa Bay had outfielder Brett Phillips mop up. That was sort of unusual, but not completely unexpected. Phillips, the former Royals player, made his second relief appearance of the season and third of his career.

After Mike Trout hit a two-run homer to push the Angels’ lead to 10-0, Shohei Ohtani doubled. Third baseman Anthony Rendon then decided to do something for the first time in his 10-year MLB career: bat left-handed. Rendon’s previous 4,528 plate appearances had all been as a right-handed hitter.

What happened next was crazy:

Rendon didn’t talk to reporters after the game, but Angels manager Joe Maddon talked about the wild home run.

“He does that a lot with the guys downstairs in the batting cage,” Maddon told MLB.com. “I’m standing there and Gags (field coordinator Mike Gallego) is like, ‘He has a different helmet on.’ And that ball wasn’t just a homer. It was well-struck. All the hitting coaches said he can do this. And after the game, Anthony said he’s been hitting from the wrong side all along.”

Maddon loved Rendon’s decision to switch up things.

“I thought it was great theater,” Maddon said. “It was the perfect time to pull it off. Baseball is looking for moments like that. The crowd responded properly. No disrespect to the other side. It was just a fun baseball moment.”

Fans were blown away by Rendon’s home run from the wrong side of the plate. Here is a sample of what was said.