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The 4 Best MLB Moments from Wednesday

Emotional tributes, feral cats, and the pursuit of milestones.

Sam French
Best MLB Moments 4/21/2022

I love watching baseball on Wednesday nights. The work-week is more than halfway done and I’m able to really relax. I’m far enough into my fantasy baseball matchups that I can start to smell the sweet taste of victory. Plus, Survivor airs on Wednesdays and my partner loves Survivor, which gives me plenty of time to disappear and watch all of the best moments baseball has to offer.

And baseball had a lot of best moments to offer last night.

Some of the moments were so stunning they qualified as art. And I mean that literally…

And some of them were just so wonderful they made me feel like doing this:

And sometimes, the moments just make you feel vaguely poetic and philosophical about baseball and life.

 

A Farewell at Fenway

 

Boston started its night by honoring Red Sox icon Jerry Remy, who passed away from lung cancer last October. Remy played seven seasons with the Sox and made the All-Star team in 1978, his first season in Boston.

Remy wasn’t just a Boston great on the field, of course. He also starred off the field, with a lengthy career as the Red Sox color analyst. And the Sox found the perfect way to honor his broadcast work.

Even more meaningful than that, though, were the loving words shared by those who knew and worked with Remy.

The entire tribute was very touching and I encourage you to go back and watch it. But rather than dwell any more on all of the Red Sox greats who were there to honor Remy, I want to end this moment with one of his most celebrated calls…

 

Special Memories

 

As I started writing this piece Wednesday evening, Miguel Cabrera was in need of four more hits to make it to 3000. I thought it was pretty unlikely I’d have the chance to write about him reaching the milestone. And then he got his first hit, which was an infield single, naturally.

And then he got his second hit. And his third. And then I started re-writing an alternative introduction to this entire piece that was Miggy-focused. Alas, he didn’t quite make it there. Still, three hits in one night? Setting him up for his 3000th hit any day now? That’s a pretty special memory.

As is hitting a home run on your birthday. Happy Birthday, Brandon Belt.

As is hitting a home run so far that its reported distance ends in a “00” but starts with a “5.”

As is doing something no one has ever done before (and then taking a perfect game into the 6th inning).

 

What Doesn’t Kill Us Makes Us Stronger

 

Most of the “best MLB moments” tend to be pretty positive moments. Moments of joy, of laughter, of little kids giggling as their favorite player signs their jerseys. Sunshine and roses and Shohei Ohtani doing Shohei Ohtani stuff. It’s pretty rare that these moments focus on pain. On suffering. On hardship. But you know what? Without a little pain, can joy even exist? Without a little suffering and hardship, could the Best MLB Moments exist?

I’m admittedly not the most qualified person to answer that question. The actually most qualified person to answer that question might be this base-runner rounding third. I’m not one for the “unwritten rules of baseball,” but I think it should go without saying that tackling players is no good.

While we’re on the subject of pain, the seventh level of you-know-where is actually just trying to find (legal) parking in New York City. I’ve gotten a ticket, everyone I know’s gotten a ticket, you’ve probably gotten a ticket, and now Trevor Williams has gotten a ticket, too. Cue the tiny violins. Side note: I’d be happy to talk Trevor through what he’s doing wrong next time, should he need some assistance.

And while Trevor’s pain will likely heal quickly, some pain lingers for years. Do you remember when Armando Galarraga’s should-have-been-perfect game was overturned by a bad call? Well, this class from Monmouth University Law sure does. And they are not letting it go.

That tweet has me asking a lot of questions, such as “aren’t there more important legal matters for you to be focusing on?” and “wow, why did the document need to be 82 pages long? Was it a flipbook depicting the play?” But you know what? None of that matters. Keep fighting the good fight, Monmouth Law.

Speaking of fighting the good fight, I for one think Oakland A’s fans were fighting the good fight when they caused their team (and its cheap ownership) a little bit of pain in its home opener the other night.

But, in the name of journalistic integrity, I have to point out that the above numbers are incorrect. Or at least incomplete. After all, they only counted the human population at the Coliseum. They neglected to count the FERAL CATS.

Congratulations, A’s fans. You don’t get Matt Chapman or Matt Olson anymore, but you do get 30-40 neutered feral cats. And I actually really love cats. But I love dogs more. Which leads me to…

 

Baseball Puppies!!!!!!

 

Need I say more? Need I say it again? Okay, I will: BASEBALL. PUPPIES. Specifically, Shea, the “Mets’ team puppy.”

I would desperately like to be your friend, Shea. You seem like a very, very good dog. Exhibit A:

And Exhibit B:

Regardless of what happens with the rest of the season, you’ve made this one successful for the Mets, Shea. Thank you.

And thank you, baseball, for a wonderful Wednesday.

 

Photo by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis

Sam French

Brooklyn-based writer-- primarily of fiction, sometimes other stuff like baseball. Was once almost ejected from a rec softball game for employing too many infield shifts.

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