Minor Leaguer Hits the Jackpot

Tom Hardgrove earns $850 a month as a first baseman in the rookie Appalachian League.

But with one swing Hardgrove, playing for the Martinsville, Va., Phillies, won $1,000 when he sent a 414-foot drive through a basketball hoop mounted on the center-field fence at the Elizabethton Twins’ O’Brien Field for a double.

David McQueen of the Twins said it was the first time anyone accomplished the feat since the basket was erected 15 years ago.

“We’ll probably go the rest of our lives and never see another like it,” McQueen said. “That shot was unreal.”

McQueen said about 100 games are played at the field every year. The Twins have 35 home dates and there are assorted high school, college and other amateur games held there.

A local business awarded Hardgrove, 21, a check for $1,000 before Tuesday’s game.