I woke up with a spring in my step at 3 am Melbourne time to start my bumper Saturday (well, Sunday morning here!) baseball viewing. Living in Australia has its advantages when it comes to baseball. I enjoyed a full day watching this beautiful game and then got to walk on the beach with my family in glorious sunshine for the afternoon before tucking into writing this with a cold beer and pizza. How was your day?!
Enough of that, let’s dive right into all the action —here are all the wonderful tidbits you may have missed from Saturday’s slate of games.
Double Adell
It had been somewhat of a slow start for the heralded Los Angeles Angels rookie, Jo Adell. That all changed last night.
https://gfycat.com/agitatedterrificdobermanpinscher
Not satisfied with just one, he ordered up a big double home run night! Why not? Welcome to the bigs, young man.
https://gfycat.com/vaguedimpledamericanbulldog
The Master And The Apprentice
…are both tied at the top of the home run leaderboard in Major League baseball so far this season. Just the 19 years between them, don’t you just love baseball.
Currently tied atop the MLB home run leaderboard:
Nelson Cruz (40 years old) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (21 years old), with 13 home runs each
Baseball!!!
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 29, 2020
“Boomstick” went yard again today off Tigers rookie Tarik Skubal with a 437 ft home run with an Exit Velocity of 110.8 mph.
40-year-old Nelson Cruz is tied for the league lead in homers. 👀 pic.twitter.com/hn0ymgIMxp
— MLB (@MLB) August 29, 2020
Clearly Nelson Cruz did not like being outmuscled by his partner at the top of the charts, Fernando Tatis Jr. who hit the roof the other night with a 448 ft blast with an 110.4 mph Exit Velocity. My, oh my!
Fernando Tatis Jr. sent one to the rooftop 😱
(via @Padres)pic.twitter.com/G6Mmkj5BBO
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 27, 2020
Wild Finishes
Remarkably, two games today were settled by walk-off wins thanks to wild pitches. The first was in the Subway Series between the Mets and Yankees, with Mets reliever Dellin Betances handing victory to his former employer with a pitch way, way too high!
The Yanks out mets'd the mets yesterday but the mets decided to get metsy today. walk-off wild pitch. pic.twitter.com/BNacw7d6of
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) August 29, 2020
Feeling left out, Craig Kimbrel decided to prolong his miserable time with the Chicago Cubs so far by forcing a pitch low into the dirt – it squirmed under the mitt of Willson Contreras and Nicholas Castellanos sprinted in from third base to win it for the Cincinnati Reds.
REDS WIN ON A WALK-OFF WILD PITCH
(via @FOXSportsCincy)pic.twitter.com/4DfbKx0kai
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 30, 2020
Nik Nosferatu
There was some serious intensity on the face of Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Nik Turley last night with the game hanging in the balance. And, our friend Rob Friedman was quick to make a terrifying analogy.
Nik Turley (Nosferatu remix/audio).
This works. pic.twitter.com/NkZYNG3xLa
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 30, 2020
A Grand Stat!
I am a bit of a “Statto” as they say in England, and when this flashed up on my screen during yesterday’s Royals v White Sox broadcast, I found immediate joy!
https://twitter.com/j_dece/status/1299786703771758592
Quadruple Check Swing Check Alert!
Yes, this is the content I am looking for! This is what makes baseball fun.
THE FABLED QUADRUPLE CHECK! pic.twitter.com/YVBjnbkSMw
— Ben Porter (@Ben13Porter) August 29, 2020
Boston! Oh, Boston!
It has been a rough season so far for Red Sox fans and if they thought that the year wasn’t going to get any worse after Mookie Betts was traded across the country to the Los Angeles Dodgers, then, unfortunately, they were mistaken. Here is the latest cringeworthy blip in what is turning out to be a disastrous season.
2020 Red Sox pic.twitter.com/Q1xBoNawnh
— Julian McWilliams (@byJulianMack) August 30, 2020
MLB Closed Captioning Strikes Back
What is Luke Voit’s new nickname?
So here’s Luke boy. pic.twitter.com/Rsp96s5qCP
— MLB Closed Captioning (@mlb_cc) August 30, 2020
Brotherly Love
Philadelphia is, of course, Greek for “brotherly love”, and that was on show yesterday when the cardboard cutout players of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL headed down to the ballpark to cheer on their fellow sporting neighbors.
Beauties at the Ballpark. #AnytimeAnywhere | #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/385IhYwcbp
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) August 29, 2020
Vale Chadwick Boseman
It was with tremendous sadness that the baseball community, along with people across the world, learned of the tragic passing of actor Chadwick Boseman at the age of 43. His sensational portrayal of Jackie Robinson in Brian Helgeland’s biopic film “42” will be familiar to many baseball fans. It was solemn, but poignant, that the news of his death came on Major League Baseball’s Jackie Robinson Day.
Chadwick Boseman, who played Jackie Robinson in “42,” has died at the age of 42 on Jackie Robinson Day.
What an awful loss for this world. pic.twitter.com/8yNYJDvZbF
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 29, 2020
The Los Angeles Dodgers held a moment of silence in respect of the actor before yesterday’s game.
A moment of silence for Chadwick Boseman prior to today’s game. pic.twitter.com/knKv6yObgq
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 29, 2020
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty donned a pair of cleats honoring the late actor’s performance in the Marvel Universe film “Black Panther.”
.@Jack9Flaherty is wearing black panther cleats in honor of @chadwickboseman. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/2ibHMxbwNp
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 29, 2020
There was also news from the Baseball Hall of Fame, where the baseball cap worn by Boseman in the film was posted online.
The Hall of Fame remembers Chadwick Boseman, who portrayed Jackie Robinson in the 2013 biopic “42” based on Robinson’s rookie season with the @Dodgers in 1947. This cap, worn by Boseman in the film, is a part of the Hall of Fame collection. Photo: Milo Stewart Jr. pic.twitter.com/TqgeW2aTRm
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) August 29, 2020
Some lovely moments across baseball as we pay our respects, be at peace Chad.