From The Couch – Kaelen Culpepper Homers In Major League Debut
Former K-State baseball player Kaelen Culpepper was called up to the Minnesota Twins yesterday and made quite the splash in his first major league game….
JM: Wow. The only thing better than this would have been to homer in the first at-bat, but I suppose the second will do!
“Kaelen Culpepper’s first 24 hours as a Major Leaguer had just about everything you could expect from a player finally getting the call. Tears in a Triple-A clubhouse, a frantic trip to Milwaukee, a sellout crowd and, eventually, a bucket of mustard and baby powder waiting for him after the game.”…David Martinez, Roundtable Sports, August 8th, 2026
JM: A bucket of mustard and baby powder? You have my attention…
His first career hit for the Minnesota Twins came in his second at-bat Friday night, and it came after he fell behind Milwaukee left-hander Shane Drohan 0-2. Rather than allowing the count to speed him up, Culpepper went back to the approach that had carried him through Triple-A and into the Twins’ plans.
“I mean, I’m just sticking to my approach,” Culpepper said postgame on Twins TV. “Not really letting what happened early in that at-bat dictate what was gonna be the outcome. So I just, you know, trusting myself, trusting my eyes.”…David Martinez, Roundtable Sports, August 8th, 2026
JM: This is the stuff dreams are made of.
“That turned into a 390-foot home run to left-center field, cutting Milwaukee’s lead to 4-3 and giving Minnesota the spark it needed during an eventual 8-6 comeback victory.”…David Martinez, Roundtable Sports, August 8th, 2026
JM: It’s not rare for a player called up from the minors to find instant success. The pitchers don’t know much about him yet. But that doesn’t diminish this feel-good story.
“While showering with Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday, Culpepper was called into manager Brian Dinkelman’s office, where he found a group of coaches and coordinators waiting for him. He immediately realized why.
“I got pretty emotional,” Culpepper said, via MLB.com’s Zach Sweet. “I started crying.”…David Martinez, Roundtable Sports, August 8th, 2026
JM: This was a very emotional moment for Culpepper, and obviously his coaches were also thrilled for him.
“While his teammates didn’t hit him with an ice bath during on-field television interviews, they nailed him with about every substance they could find inside the clubhouse. From baby powder to mustard to shaving cream to mouthwash, the Twins carried out a rookie tradition and made sure Culpepper was covered from head to toe in crap.
When he returned from the shower 10 minutes later, Culpepper was still finding chunks of goop in his hair. But same as earlier in the day, Culpepper was all smiles.
“I don’t know if you can tell, but I got stuff all over my hair,” Culpepper said. “It was cool though, it’s a tradition around here.
“It was special.”…Dan Hayes, New York Times, August 8, 2026
JM: Geez, you hit a home run to get your team back in the game and get hazed for your effort! Guess he didn’t mind, though!
Congratulations, Kaelen!
