“I got power, you know.”

Christopher Morel said this to Marquee Sports Network’s Lance Brozdowski during an interview in Tennessee last summer.

Now, everybody knows.

With 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th inning and the Cubs leading 6-0, it was a perfect time for Morel to make his MLB debut.

The young infielder/outfielder was just promoted to the majors Tuesday afternoon and got the call to pinch-hit for Patrick Wisdom.

He initially fell down in the count 0-2 before battling back to a full count.

Then, magic happened.

Morel smacked the full-count pitch into the left field bleachers for a 417-foot homer. It was clocked at 111.3 mph, the hardest-hit ball of the game by either team.

“That ball was smoked,” David Ross said. “It was definitely loud. You knew it was gone off the bat. Shoot, that’s the stuff you dream about.”

The Wrigley Field faithful loved the moment, encouraging Morel to deliver a curtain call.

First MLB AB for Christopher Morel… HOMER and curtain call!!! #Cubs pic.twitter.com/fdsGNEEEDC

— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) May 18, 2022

When Morel came out onto the field for the top of the 9th to play third base, he received a big ovation from the 30,478 fans in attendance and he tipped his hat to the crowd.

“I tried to do this because when I hit this home run and I heard the fans so loud, I said, ‘this is my moment. I need to enjoy this,'” he said.

Morel became the first Cub to homer in his first MLB at-bat since…teammate Willson Contreras, who also accomplished the feat at Wrigley Field against the Pirates on June 19, 2016.

Contreras was fired up for the moment:

Willson's reaction is everything. pic.twitter.com/8eTS9bPixK

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) May 18, 2022

Morel actually told Contreras and Alfonso Rivas the inning before his at-bat that he was going to homer. 

It’s been a long journey to the big leagues for the 22-year-old, who signed with the Cubs in 2015 but didn’t make his pro debut until 2017 due to a cut on his arm. 

“It is really special, especially knowing where he’s coming from, what he had to go through to get back on the field is just amazing,” Contreras said. “I just told him, ‘God is good. You’re blessed to be still playing baseball.’

“What happened to him wasn’t easy but he never gave up. Knowing him, it makes me proud. I know what kind of guy he is. He’s always smiling and he’s always looking forward to winning a game. I’ve known this guy for a really long time and it makes me proud.”

Morel has been on the Cubs’ 40-man roster for the past couple of seasons, so he has been in spring camp with the big leaguers a lot. 

This spring, he had a special message for Ross on the half-field at the Cubs’ complex in Arizona.

“He’s like, ‘you’re gonna see me this year,'” Ross said. “He reminded me of that when I congratulated him on being here this morning. That’s impressive.”