The Nick Kurtz Game: What the Guys on Base Thought
HOUSTON (July 26) — One day after “The Nick Kurtz Game,” those connected with the game were still in disbelief. Much has been written about this game, and much has been discussed in interviews. But three people close to the situation had yet to share their stories — the runners on base for his first and fourth home runs. (The second and third were solo shots.) These runners were Max Schuemann (first homer) as well as Gio Urshela and Carlos Cortes (both from his fourth). They shared their stories Saturday in one-on-one interviews with this reporter — and Schuemann revealed how close we came to possibly not seeing the first homer at all.
The Baserunners from the Fourth Homer
When Kurtz ripped home run number four in the ninth, Gio Urshela was on third base. “Even before he was walking to the box,” Urshela said, “I said, ‘This might be number four here.’”
And when Urshela was waiting at home plate to greet Kurtz after he completed his trot around the bases, a different thought ran through his head. “I was like, ‘How’d he do that?’ It’s impressive. Something you don’t see every day.”
“Don’t Get Out against a Position Player.”
Standing on first was Carlos Cortes, playing in his third major league game. He had reached with two outs and Kurtz on deck. Had he not done so, Kurtz would not have even batted in the ninth.
Some may think he wanted to get on base more than usual so Kurtz could try for his fourth homer. Nope. “I had, honestly, no idea,” Cortes explained. “I knew that he had three homers, but I wasn’t even thinking about needing to get a hit so he could get his fourth. That was not going through my head.”
So what was? Well, since outfielder Cooper Hummel was pitching, it was pretty basic. “Don’t get out against a position player. Try and barrel up a ball here. After punching out three times, I was (thinking), ‘Let me try to do something here.’ I had no idea.”
Standing on First
Upon reaching first, Cortes was scared, even saying so to first-base coach Bobby Crosby. “I was scared that he was gonna hit one right at me at 120 (mph), so that’s all I was thinking about.
“Then he goes backside for a homer. I thought, ‘Oh, crap! He did it!’ I really told Bobby I was terrified. He said he was, too.”
As he ran the bases, he did so in disbelief. He thought, “I can’t believe that ball just went out. Fourth homer. I’ve never been part of a four-homer game or anything close to that. Special player.”
When Kurtz crossed the plate and slapped fives with Urshela and Cortes, Cortes told Kurtz, “You’re Him.”
The Baserunner from the First Homer — and How It Might Not Have Happened
When Kurtz batted in the second inning, the A’s led, 3–0. In the first, Kurtz had singled and scored. Obviously, no one knew what was yet to come. So Max Schuemann, the runner on first, had a different mindset than Urshela and Cortes had in the ninth. “I was talking back and forth with Bobby, and what we do is go through the game situation and decide whether it is a good time to steal. In Carlos’ at-bat, I was thinking about potentially stealing — get on second with the top of our lineup coming up.
“He ended up getting out, and then Kurtz stepped to the plate. I was going back and forth with Bob again.” Essentially, Schuemann told Crosby he thought he had the pitcher’s move figured out, but he was going to let Kurtz hit. “Bob looked at me and said, ‘Probably a good idea.’ So I said I’d let the kid hit because he’s been absolutely on a tear. Either the next pitch or two pitches later, he hit the home run.”
Running the Bases
As he jogged around the bases, Schuemann thought to himself that he had made the right choice by not stealing. “I ended up going to Bobby and telling him it was probably a good idea,” he laughed.
Did Schuemann tell Kurtz about this? Schuemann does not think so. “I’m trying to find a way to keep the kid humble,” he joked. “After yesterday— it doesn’t get much better than that, right?”
A Good Luck Charm?
Schuemann opened up about a current situation. “My monitor (for video games) broke. So especially when I’m not in the lineup, I’ll play a bit more. A later at night type of deal. Being the person he is, (Nick) has volunteered to give me his monitor. So my running joke with him is, ‘Hey, I have your monitor. The monitor is mine now, because you haven’t gotten out.’ I’m convinced that since he’s getting a little extra sleep, whatever it may be, that’s part of it.”
Schuemann concluded the conversation by sharing that virtually everyone on the team was wondering, “What did we do yesterday that we can make that happen again?” When reminded that a 6-for-6/four homer/six runs scored/19 total bases game has only happened one other time in major league history, Schuemann said, “That’s what I’m saying. It’s one of those things that…man, I don’t even know what to say about it.
“It was fun to be a part of.”
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