Folks, even as an avowed East Coaster (East Coast Right Coast, the only timezone that matters!) I gotta say these LA/SD games are must-watch entertainment. And it’s only April!
Can You Hear The Drums, Fernando?
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Fernando Tatís Jr. is really good at baseball and also has a lot of fun doing it.
Most recently he showed off both his skill and fun-having as he took Trevor Bauer deep in the first inning and made a very subtle reference, see if you can spot it:
Anything you can do, eye can do better. pic.twitter.com/LzXWzzI0Ak
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 25, 2021
I am not a very scientific guy so I don’t fully understand what Bauer was trying to accomplish by closing his eye during that start in Spring Training, but I do think I know what Tatís was going for and I really cannot tell you how much I appreciate this kind of thing.
But wait, there’s more! Tatís somehow pulled an outside (as in, fully out of the zone) cutter for another dinger in the sixth and couldn’t pass up another opportunity to rub it in a little:
https://gfycat.com/clumsygranulargelada
MLB’s closed captioning did a pretty good job of summing up Tatís’ career so far:
the hand of power. pic.twitter.com/RlYdOtSRSZ
— MLB Closed Captioning (@mlb_cc) April 25, 2021
But even on top of the ribbing and just general radness of multi-HR games from a dude who is barely back from what looked like a terrible shoulder injury, his performance on Saturday was historic:
Visiting players with back-to-back multi-HR games at Dodger Stadium:
4/23-24, 2021: Fernando Tatis Jr.
4/2-3, 2002: Barry Bonds— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 25, 2021
Pretty decent company. But what if you make it even harder?
Just making sure everyone knows that Tatis is the first hitter ever to do this.
Thanks to @StatsBySTATS and @Jacob_Jaffe for that tremendous note! https://t.co/JGEt5aZJou
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) April 25, 2021
Casual reminder that Tatís is also only 22 years old. Ho-hum.
Kirk-Jerky
On a wildly different part of the “Baseball Players I Love” spectrum, we have Alejandro Kirk. He hit a hot shot grounder to Mike Brosseau, who seemed to forget who was running because he then threw a very awkward hop past first baseman Yandy Díaz. Then it was Kirk’s turn to forget as he seemed to realize a bit late that he should probably slide into second:
Just when I thought I couldn't love Alejandro Kirk any more than I already did he does this.
This guy is something special. #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/YKYnATNYDi
— Jason (Hanshin) Lee (@Jasons_JaysHub) April 24, 2021
I always appreciate when baseball players do silly things that make them look like mere mortals rather than the ridiculously talented athletes they are. It’s a nice confidence booster.
Night Of The Big Hands
Over in Cleveland, Aaron Hicks sent a poorly placed Shane Bieber fastball over the center-field wall, where it was caught by a fan with a truly enormous glove on.
Big homer to the big glove. pic.twitter.com/WadLP6pVEn
— MLB (@MLB) April 24, 2021
And if you want to see a huge mitt on the field of play, here’s DJ LeMahieu’s:
Straight into your living room. pic.twitter.com/bJbiQ5GT5G
— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) April 25, 2021
Some of you might claim this is more of a perspective trick, but that’s just like, your opinion man.
But Cleveland wasn’t the only place where there seemed to be some phostlite exposure going on, as we also got to see a huge hand in the stands in San Francisco:
Seems like as good a time as any to suggest watching the Everlong video again.
Rain Is For The Birds
The weather in Baltimore was less than ideal for their game against Oakland, and in addition to a whole heap of Diamond Dry, eventually, the little cleat scraper thing on the mound had to be swapped out. This is how I learned that apparently, a claw hammer is just standard grounds crew equipment:
It takes a village. pic.twitter.com/nnp0LZ4J3p
— Orioles on MASN (@masnOrioles) April 25, 2021
The A’s went on to win the game 7-2 giving them their 13th win in a row, going from a 0-6 start to the best record in the AL. It also makes the AL West standings very silly.
Bounceback Inning
And while we’re in Baltimore, I gotta highlight this quick thinking from Oakland catcher Sean Murphy to commit some catcher-on-catcher crime:
The old throw-it-off-the-brick-wall-to-catch-the-player-stealing-third trick.
Also, the @Athletics are looking for their 13th straight win…
🎥: @MLB pic.twitter.com/akAWzUwfBY
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 25, 2021
Or maybe this was the plan? The backstop at Camden is famously bouncy, so this kind of thing is just a galaxy brain pitchout if you think about it…
Sharing Is Caring
And to round things out, we’ll stay in Charm City with a simple moment of zen:
https://twitter.com/hbro36/status/1386126405721800706
Take this energy with you into the week, folks.
Photo by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)