Wyatt Langford, Texas Rangers' red-hot rookie, makes history hitting for cycle vs. Orioles

BALTIMORE - Wyatt Langford's major league career was highly anticipated well before the Texas Rangers took him with the fourth overall pick in the draft less than a year ago.

And while he made his debut on Opening Day, the former University of Florida star really achieved liftoff Sunday night.

Langford hit for the cycle at Camden Yards, clubbing a triple, double and single in his second through fourth at-bats before his most momentous clout, a three-run home run into the left field corner that finished the Rangers' scoring in an 11-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles.

Langford, 22, was having a fine if unspectacular rookie season, a campaign that was waylaid for three weeks in May by a hamstring strain. But he's serving notice why the Rangers nearly put him on their World Series-winning playoff roster last year - barely two months after he was drafted.

Langford capped off a scorching June in which he batted .309 (30-for-97) with three homers and 22 RBI, the latter stat leading all American League rookies. The grand finale came on national television.

Langford legged out a triple in his second at-bat off lefty starter Cole Irvin, and then drove in his first run off Orioles reliever Nick Vespi with an RBI hustle double in the fifth on a relatively routine ground ball up the middle.

He singled in the seventh and then provided the historic coda.

Batting against 29-year-old rookie reliever Matt Krook, Langford timed up a floating cutter, loaded his exaggerated leg kick and clubbed the ball 404 feet down the left field line for a three-run homer. He became the first Rangers rookie to hit for the cycle since speedster Oddibe McDowell in 1985. It was the 11th cycle in Rangers franchise history.

With the Rangers holding an 8-2 lead, Langford didn't try to hide his intentions.

"I was trying to hit a home run," he said, just a trace of sheepishness.

His team noticed - not that they could blame him.

"I tell you, it looked like he had it on his mind, didn’t it?" says Bruce Bochy, the Rangers' manager in his 27th year at the helm of a club.

"We were all pulling for him. And he didn’t miss it, I’ll say that."

He also made a different kind of history: Langford, according to Elias Sports Bureau, is the first rookie in history to hit an inside-the-park home run, grand slam and hit for the cycle.

And this very fine rookie year - Langford's now batting .260 with a .712 OPS and four home runs - is barely halfway over.

"He’s just an exciting player," says Bochy. "He’s a ballplayer and you love how aggressive he is – no fear on the bases. Out of the box, he’s looking to get the double or triple. He’s just got great instincts out there. It’s just fun to watch him.

"In your first year to hit for the cycle – it’s quite a milestone. Guys go through their whole career and not get one. Here he got one in his first year."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wyatt Langford, Texas Rangers' red-hot rookie, makes history hitting for cycle vs. Orioles