Look at the numbers Ryan O’Hearn put up while playing college ball and you won’t see a ton of home runs. But the Royals thought O’Hearn had more power than he’d shown at Sam Houston State University, and when he got to Idaho Falls — his first stop in the minor leagues — O’Hearn was given a simple goal:
Hit the house.
The house in question sat beyond the right-field wall of the Idaho Falls Chukars’ home stadium, Melaleuca Field. Telling O’Hearn to hit it was the Royals way of getting him to cut loose at the plate.