Just another Manic Monday. A week ago we were all snuggled up with the Home Run Derby, watching Pete Alonso and company put on one heck of a show. Last night, in many ways, it was as if the Home Run Derby had never ended. There was a lot of offense. There were a lot of dingers. There was this through-line as well:
Shohei Ohtani, the hitter who participated in the Home Run Derby, is the Angels starting pitcher tonight
Shohei Ohtani, the pitcher who started in the All-Star Game, is hitting second for the Angels tonight
— Taylor Blake Ward (@TaylorBlakeWard) July 19, 2021
And this déjà vu:
Alrighty, nice day at the ballpark, fans are settling into their seats an-OH MY Pete Alonso crushes another one!
(via @Mets) pic.twitter.com/zQXUxUDUJ7
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 19, 2021
And while we are taking a little gander at accomplishments past, we got this tidbit yesterday from Jomboy:
Three feet between Shohei Ohtani’s highest and lowest pitches hit for a home run this season is the largest difference in MLB
Fernando Tatis Jr. (20 inches) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (19 inches) are the next closest
(via @CodifyBaseball) pic.twitter.com/hZ9B5zQoo9
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 19, 2021
There was this very nice defensive play that was about a foot away from being an upper (and probably lower) body injury:
Rafael Ortega, meet the center field wall. pic.twitter.com/aWIv8Ptf13
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) July 20, 2021
This one may leave you seeing double:
Because these are the things I notice at a ballpark, there’s a guy wearing a Todd Frazier Mets jersey sitting behind a guy wearing a Todd Frazier Reds jersey pic.twitter.com/btzSxRUbjm
— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) July 20, 2021
And here’s a position player pitching:
welcome back to the
(•_•)
<) )╯POSITION
/ \\(•_•)
( (> PLAYER
/ \(•_•)
<) )> PITCHING
/ \thread, Sandy!!! pic.twitter.com/wqnQ9LBlaD
— Cut4 (@Cut4) July 20, 2021
Did you catch the Mike Trout sighting?
We see you, @MikeTrout 👀#WeBelieve | @Angels pic.twitter.com/vDDTmOZk6l
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) July 20, 2021
And a pitch that would make Bob Uecker proud:
Juuuust a bit outside, he tried the corner and missed pic.twitter.com/2hnOALJk2g
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) July 20, 2021
Finally, we have this magical moment for Shane Bieber that has nothing to do with baseball, but we offer our hearty congratulations!
Our ace picked up a win yesterday.
Congrats on the engagement, @ShaneBieber19! 💍 pic.twitter.com/vIzd1Ys1n3
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 19, 2021
Happy 99th Birthday!
I will not try to recreate all the wonderful words that have been said about Rachel Robinson, but this is a moment worthy of a place of honor. We thank you and we celebrate you!
Happy 99th birthday to Rachel Robinson, a truly transformative figure across all facets of life! pic.twitter.com/JS4Dl0v4AK
— MLB (@MLB) July 19, 2021
Blowout Baseball
The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 13-4. The Tigers beat the Rangers 14-0. Neither scored the most runs of the night, however. That honor goes to the Washington Nationals who put up an 18-spot:
Came out swingin' 💣
🔗: https://t.co/nDs8jpzJ84 pic.twitter.com/1eZ4rt6l7i
— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 20, 2021
You know the old saying, everything is bigger in Michigan. pic.twitter.com/p5XtUnWSoF
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) July 20, 2021
Nationals @BuffaloBills
🤝
beating Miami by 3 possessions pic.twitter.com/Snatdgk71E
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 20, 2021
The Marlins had a sense of humor about it at least:
final. pic.twitter.com/yZnxSCFm1B
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) July 20, 2021
There was more to this Nationals game, though. For that, we take a look at:
Trea Turner? More like Trea Burner, amirite?
The Fastest Man in @MLB™ just hit an RBI 3B TO LEFT FIELD.@treavturner // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/zQ2QP8xDJX
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 19, 2021
Juan Soto did his thing too:
This is Juan Soto's 4th game since the HR Derby.
This is Juan Soto's 4th HR since the HR Derby.@JuanSoto25_ // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/pIzLJLVYzT
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 19, 2021
And then, not unlike Britney Spears, he did it again. The difference here is that there was no “Oops” about it:
lol Juan Soto just hit another homer we're up by 18@JuanSoto25_ // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/pgL4m5EAlT
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 20, 2021
Those two dingers may not have been the most noteworthy baseballs to leave the yard, however. That honor belongs to Jon Lester. I know you probably think I’m making a joke about how Lester gave up some sort of moon shot, but that’s not it at all. Look for yourself:
Jon Lester two-run home run?!
104.5mph off the bat and 419 feet traveled, that wasn’t cheap 🤯
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) July 20, 2021
419 feet for Jon Lester. 😱 #PitchersWhoRake pic.twitter.com/dpHvddXB2j
— MLB (@MLB) July 20, 2021
The entire affair was kind of a success for Jon:
Jon Lester threw 7⃣ IP (season high)
Jon Lester tallied 7⃣ K (season high)
Jon Lester hit 1⃣ HR (season high)
Jon Lester recorded 2⃣ RBI (season high)@JLester34 // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/7JU6SCi73g— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 20, 2021
Two Firsts
Both the Red Sox and Angles saw young players achieve milestones. For the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of the United States, it was Brandon Marsh getting his first MLB base-knock:
First MLB hit for Brandon Marsh. pic.twitter.com/ntYkGiFOVx
— Brent Maguire (@bmags94) July 20, 2021
For the Red Sox of Boston of Massachusettes, it was Jarren Duran hitting his first MLB dinger:
Jarren Duran smashes his first career homer! pic.twitter.com/sFHL9fsCYD
— MLB (@MLB) July 19, 2021
The Sox hit a bunch of them but did not have their home run cart. So, while this is not Duran, here’s the video evidence of dugout creativity:
No HR cart? No problem…
Feast your eyes on the HR cooler 😅
(via @Cut4)pic.twitter.com/XsN5Dnv9wB
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 20, 2021
Meet Max Muncy (Again)
Max Muncy was introduced at the Oakland Coliseum tonight. Max Muncy hit a home run in LA tonight.
— Casey Pratt (@CaseyPrattABC7) July 20, 2021
Get to know our 2021 first round pick, @Maxmuncy_8! pic.twitter.com/joFKrCt5Km
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) July 20, 2021
Max Muncy on shedding the Max Muncy (LA) comparison: “I feel worse for him because he’s at the All-Star game getting questions about me.” pic.twitter.com/gqrRQtu0OI
— Shayna Rubin (@ShaynaRubin) July 19, 2021
Also Max Muncy:
¡MAX MUNCY! 💣#LosDodgers pic.twitter.com/6z4FFxXRAU
— Los Dodgers (@LosDodgers) July 20, 2021
This was actually the back half of a back-to-back:
BACK-TO-BACK! pic.twitter.com/fuEkZTVU3R
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 20, 2021
The best part of which are the Gavin Lux reaction shots:
which gavin lux home run reaction are you pic.twitter.com/ABLk7w0uo9
— Cut4 (@Cut4) July 20, 2021
Click it and look at that second image; trust me it’s worth it (but come back and finish the article after, duh).
Around the League
This is as close to montage as you can get in a written piece. Imagine 80s hair band music playing in the background and some of your life in slow motion and the effect will be complete. Here’s some stuff.
Tim Anderson has a 16-game hitting streak:
Tim Anderson is on fire 🔥
He now has a 16-game hitting steak
(via @whitesox)pic.twitter.com/KwAUq38Bcv
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 19, 2021
Gavin Sheets walked the game off:
Gavin Sheets sends everyone home! pic.twitter.com/ieaEIE5e9M
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 20, 2021
Fresh Sheets. #UltraMoment pic.twitter.com/ht7y9cIquP
— MLB (@MLB) July 20, 2021
Jesse Winker had a big hit:
🚨 JESSE WINKER TIES IT IN THE 9TH 🚨 pic.twitter.com/L5ZF7vcwcV
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 20, 2021
Holy shift! The Tigers went all-in on Gallo:
The Tigers are pulling out of the Rays playbook against Joey Gallo. Five (5) players in the outfield, nobody on the left side of the infield. pic.twitter.com/42Lw1fn19b
— kennedi landry (@kennlandry) July 19, 2021
And Gallo sent them tickets to his gun-show:
Joey Gal-throw. 😱 pic.twitter.com/7CFtM5TFQi
— MLB (@MLB) July 20, 2021
And the Minnesota Twins have graced us all with the term “GarvSauce” which I do not like, but Mitch Garver seems okay and is pretty good at baseball:
Fresh #GarvSauce!
Mmmmmm. 🥫😋#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/FZcEzrchG5
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 20, 2021
#GarvSauce hits home runs in every at-bat now. Those are the rules. 🥫🥫#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/lk7w5F8q7y
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 20, 2021
Checking in to see what Hansel Robles thinks:
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 20, 2021
He approves.
Have a Happy Tuesday everybody!
Photo by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)
