Miami Gulliver Prep senior Joe Dunand will have his name in the history books just like his famous uncle, but for a feat his uncle was never able to accomplish.
Dunand, the 18-year-old nephew of New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, played in the Horizon National Tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz., last weekend, and finished 10-for-12 at the plate with nine home runs, including homers on his final eight swings, according to the Miami Herald (with a hat tip to Prep Rally).
Dunand’s offensive power was so impressive that the tournament’s coaches named him the offensive MVP before the championship game was even played.
“It’s the most unbelievable thing,” Gulliver coach Javier Rodriguez said of his infielder. “I’ve never seen anything like that. It looked like a video game at one point. It didn’t matter what they were trying to throw at him, everything was gone.”
If Dunand’s feat is confirmed by the National Federation of State High School Associations, it would break the national prep record of six consecutive at-bats with a home run held by six different high school players.
“I was surprised, but I wasn’t complaining,” Dunand told the Miami Herald. “I was just letting it happen. I was seeing the ball very well. I just hit it and it kept going every time.”
Rodriguez, who will miss the 2014 season because of his involvement with the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug scandal, has warned his young nephew about the dangers of steroids.
“I got the message from him,” a 13-year-old Dunand told the New York Daily News five years ago after Rodriguez admitted to using PEDs. “He said that it was stupid to make little mistakes like that.”
Photo via Twitter/@Enrique_Rojas1
