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The 6 Best MLB Moments from Monday

To play or have a catch, kangaroos, and some truly great graphics work.

Matt Goodwin
Best MLB Moments 8/17/2021

Is it “to play catch” or “to have a catch” to you? I hate to reignite the old inferno of hate that one camp has for the other except that I don’t so I am; this may be the single most divisive issue in the baseball community besides all the other ones.

When I first started with Pitcher List less than a year ago, I was thrown into the Discord much in the same way terrible parents teach their children to swim: right into the deep end. The community is AMAZING, but I had never even used the app before (I’m old enough to remember MySpace so whatever) and I was trying to learn by doing.

You should absolutely, 100%, hands-down join PL+ and get into this Discord with us—it’s amazing. It’s like a vibrant city that’s all Broadway and no Staten Island. For me, it was also disorienting. I accidentally wound up in a video chat room, and it was not empty. Learned about that one real quick. But I digress.

One of the conversations that was my first exposure to the awesomeness of the Pitcher List community was the back and forth was this debate over how to properly refer to two people, with their baseball gloves properly secured to their non-throwing hands, tossing a baseball back and forth to one another. I was surprised at how attached to their particular phrasing people were. I made this and dropped it into the chat:

 

 

People didn’t really seem to like it then either. Maybe I should stop posting it…

Anyway, I eventually found my way around the Discord, the PL community, and all the amazing stuff that lives there. I sorted things out for myself and, yet, the debate over phraseology continues.

Enter Ethan Bryan (@Ethan_Bryan) and his “A Year of Playing Catch”

We don’t play enough—and our lives pay for it. For one year, I played catch, crossing 10 states and 12,000 miles on a quest both quixotic and inspiring.

I love the concept, but I have not read the book. Maybe I will. I did read this article and the whole idea really does seem fascinating. The real question here, obviously, is, “What in holy heck does this have to do with yesterday’s MLB Moments?!” The answer, of course, is, “You’ve been here often enough by now on Tuesday mornings to know I do weird things, let’s not do this dance today.” Also, the answer is this:

 

 

So what’s the point? We can and should celebrate the individual moments and accomplishments of Major League Baseball on a daily basis and this is a great place for you to come every day to see just that. But it’s also worth taking the time to remember that baseball is bigger than a single home run or strikeout. It’s even bigger than goofy dugout antics or players tripping and falling down rounding third (though this slaps and will forever). There is a magic to the game that brings us all together and though most of us will never grace the field with our presence during a game without spending a night in jail for our efforts, we can still access that magic with something as simple as having a catch. Playing catch.

Having a catch.

Playing catch.

I’m pretty sure I used to just ask buddies if they want to go “throw” so what do I know?

Here are a few other things from yesterday that were pretty cool, though just appetizers for the entrees worthy of the blue headings and size 26 font.

Liam Hendriks on a day-trip, probably introducing these innocent animals to all the worst words of the English language:

 

 

You’ll have to listen to this one, but talk about “protecting the plate” if you know what I mean:

 

 

Making a memory for a young fan:

 

 

I’m a sucker for a pun:

 

 

I am also a sucker for a good Ron Burgundy reference:

 

 

And this picture that brings us back to the esoteric and romantic nature of the game:

 

 

Joey Votto, Good at Baseball

 

Joey Votto had himself a pretty good night. First there was this:

 

 

Then there was this:

 

 

Brace yourself: Lots of 2,000 hits graphics are coming…

 

 

You know you have to respect it when the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, an organization I didn’t even know existed before yesterday, weighs in:

 

 

Another Red from Cincinatti

 

Mr. Votto may have stolen the headlines, but teammate may have stolen the show. Jonathan India has really shown himself to be an excellent baseball player and last night was no exception. This first Tweet is an audio Daily Double, so make sure you listen to one of the sweetest sounds in all of sports:

 

 

That wasn’t all of it though:

 

 

Much respect, Jonathan, much respect.

 

A Couple More Dingers

 

Anything that Brett Phillips does these days deserves attention. What a personality. This deserves attention because it is truly awesome, not run-of-the-mill, and rare enough it’s always exciting:

 

 

There was another long-ball worth sharing with you as well. This one comes to you from the Colorado Rockies. More specifically, from Connor Joe on his birthday. I mean, just look at that smile (and super cool shades that are most definitely there and not a filter):

 

 

Here’s a look at the moment itself, complete with additional video editing done by what can only be assumed was a four-minute YouTube how-to video made by an 11-year-old:

 

 

I guess you could say the home run was great, but that video was the icing on the… never mind.

 

Joey Gallo, Bronx Bomber

 

 

This speaks for itself. To be fair, so does this:

 

 

I will say this: The Yankees facial hair rule is stupid and this was all a ruse so I could work that into this piece.

 

Sweet, Slick, and Stupendous

 

This section is a story told in three acts.

Act I: Sweet

 

 

Act II: Slick

 

 

Act III: Stupendous

 

 

Things You Need to See

 

There is this amazing perspective on Fernando Tatís Jr. brought to you by Danny Vietti:

 

 

This AMAZING custom bobblehead that needs to be mass-produced and sent to me for free:

 

 

And this absolutely bizarre, strange, gross and, yet, captivating moment:

 

 

 

There it is, another recap of the best moments from Monday. Who thinks the best part of this was the moth in the ear?

 

Who are any of us to argue with Joey Votto?

 

Photo by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)

Matt Goodwin

Husband. Dad. Teacher. Writer. Podcaster. Baseball Fan. Quippy. Makes up words. FSWA. IBWAA.

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