Fisher shares credit for single-game MiLBY

Prior to May 30, California sports fans who heard the name Derek Fisher likely thought of the Lakers' former point guard who became coach of the New York Knicks. By the end of May, Astros prospect Derek Fisher was something of a local legend.

On May 30, Fisher was promoted from Class A Quad Cities in the Midwest League to Class A Advanced Lancaster in the California League. At the time, the Astros' eighth-ranked prospect had an .896 OPS with six homers and 24 RBIs in 39 games. A good season, to be sure, but in no way indicative of the feat Fisher was about to accomplish.

 

Fisher's Saturday night started strongly as hit a solo homer with one out in the top of the first inning. He struck again an inning later, clearing the center field wall at Heritage Field with the bases loaded, giving him five RBIs on two swings. At that point, it was already a career night for the 22-year-old outfielder, who'd tied a career high five days earlier with three RBIs for Quad Cities.

"Baseball's a game when you're feeling good you want to be hitting all the time and that was the most locked in I've ever been in my life," Fisher said. "My first at-bat, I was nervous; I didn't even feel the ball come off the bat, I was that nervous."

Fisher's big night took an even bigger turn in the third, when he launched another grand slam that pushed his RBI total to nine.

"The second grand slam, I didn't even know it was a grand slam," he said. "When it's your first game and you're used to coming up with the bases loaded, it says a lot about the club and the guys in front of you."

Fisher capped his night with a three-run double in the seventh. Although he was thrown out at third in the process, he ended up with 14 total bases.

"I slid past the bag at third base and, quite frankly, it wasn't about the runs I drove in, I was upset at myself that I got thrown out at third base, that I wasn't smarter and stayed at second," he said.

To put the accomplishment into perspective, the previous California League record for RBIs in game was set on May 22, 1954 by Robert Rivich, who plated 11 runs for Stockton. A seven-year Minor League veteran, Rivich's mark stood for more than 60 years; Fisher said he'd be OK if his record lasted a year.

"It was awesome," he said. "Quite frankly, I'm a believer that records are made to be broken, so if it gets broken next year, that's awesome. It's not about the record. It's just impressive to see that a team can work as a team."

Five months later, Fisher is still willing to share the credit.

"That's what a lot of people fail to realize. There's plenty of guys that have hit three homers in a game, but when you have 12 RBIs, that has nothing to do with you, that has to do with everybody getting on base," he said. "If you can tell me a time where somebody came up with the bases loaded three times, that'd be pretty impressive."

The record-setting night propelled Fisher to a strong stint out west as he compiled a .262/.354/.471 slash line with 16 homers and 63 RBIs in 84 games with the JetHawks. The 37th overall pick in the 2014 Draft finished fourth in the organization with 23 homers and fifth with 87 RBIs. Still, nothing will compare to that first game, especially as far as introductions are concerned.

"I knew some of the guys on the team, and when you get to a new place you wanna feel comfortable and you wanna fit in with the guys. It was a good welcome for me and a good kickoff with a new team," Fisher said. "It was a lot of fun my first game and the rest of the year with those guys."