'Makes me say, 'Wow!'': Garcia hits longest A's dinger of '22

WASHINGTON -- Dermis Garcia has been touted as having tremendous raw power since the day he signed with the Yankees as MLB’s top-rated international prospect back in 2014. Still, that doesn’t mean he can’t impress himself from time to time.

One night after hitting his first Major League home run, Garcia followed up with an encore performance in the A’s 5-1 loss to the Nationals on Wednesday night by crushing the longest home run by an A’s player this season -- a towering 467-foot blast off Aníbal Sánchez in the second inning that left his bat at an exit velocity of 110.6 mph.

Upon hammering the 2-0 changeup left over the middle by Sánchez high into the humid D.C. air, Garcia took a few seconds to watch the ball travel beyond the visitors’ dugout at Nationals Park and halfway up the seats in left before calmly dropping his bat near home plate and trotting around the bases. His solo shot tied for sixth-longest by an A’s hitter in the Statcast era (since 2015) and the longest since Seth Brown’s 472-foot homer last season on July 10 against the Rangers.

“That’s who I am,” Garcia said in Spanish. “I can hit the ball like that, and it’s something that makes me say, ‘Wow,’ sometimes.”

The majestic dinger was quite the hit among Garcia’s teammates, many of whom jumped from their seats as soon as he made contact and ran to the railing atop the A’s dugout to get a look at where the ball might land.

“I think I heard it was the second-longest home run hit here at this ballpark,” said Oakland manager Mark Kotsay. “That is impressive in itself.”

According to Statcast, Garcia’s homer was actually the fourth-longest home run in Nationals Park history. The distinction of longest belongs to Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who sent one 483 feet to left-center in 2020.

Hitting baseballs a long way is nothing new for Garcia. Earlier this season with Triple-A Las Vegas, the first baseman hit a home run an estimated 502 feet.

Reaching base in two of three plate appearances Wednesday -- he also drew a six-pitch walk against Sánchez to lead off the fourth -- Garcia continued what has been an impressive stretch since getting recalled from Triple-A on Friday. He’s collected at least one hit in each of the four games he’s played in, going 5-for-10 with a pair of homers and six RBIs. Through his first 12 Major League games, he’s now hitting .333.

“Dermis has done a nice job in his return with his at-bats and his approach,” Kotsay said. “We’re seeing some success right now. We’re seeing a little bit more of a confident player, which is great. We’ll continue to give him as much opportunity as we can to evaluate.”

Of his recent success, Garcia said, “I think the biggest thing has been my focus. I’m focused on every pitch. I’m seeing the ball well and timing it. Now it’s about maintaining that focus so it can happen more often.”

The 24-year-old rookie had a long wait of seven years in the Minors before finally receiving his first shot in the big leagues this season. Playing on a rebuilding A’s club that is in search of players who can help it beyond 2022, Garcia is flashing major signs of the tools that made him such a highly-coveted talent as a teenager.

“I’m happy to be getting this opportunity,” Garcia said. “That’s what anyone wants. I’m staying strong and looking to take advantage of any chance I get.”