After 20 games and plenty of drama on Friday, we may have expected many players for suffering a baseball hangover of sorts. Well, we were wrong. Saturday proved to be just as historic, baseball in 2020 never ceases to amaze us.
Here are all the wonderful tidbits you may have missed from Saturday’s slate of games.
Trout 300!
Mike Trout is our era’s Mr. Baseball – today he hit his 300th career home run off of Brandon Bielak of the Houston Astros, setting the all-time Angels home run record previously held by a different fish, Tim Salmon. This coming a year after signing a 12-year, $426 million contract extension that will undoubtedly put him in a position to break many records in the near and far future. Congratulations, Mike.
https://gfycat.com/peacefulmisguidedalpinegoat
Social media was quick to respond to the landmark home run.
Your new #Angels franchise leader in home runs: @MikeTrout! pic.twitter.com/2wF7a3LFtp
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) September 6, 2020
And it gives us another opportunity to check out that swing once again – sweet poetry in motion.
Trout's swing is great from every angle. 😍 pic.twitter.com/AgBtigsLS7
— MLB (@MLB) September 5, 2020
Just in case you were wondering where all those home runs landed, you’re welcome.
.@Angels Mike Trout hit his 300th career @mlb home run today. Here's a breakdown of all 300 home runs. pic.twitter.com/PoBkYJOQrH
— Daren Willman (@darenw) September 6, 2020
Fan Interference!
How do you get fan interference when there are no fans allowed to be in attendance? Well, the Baltimore Orioles upset the powerhouse New York Yankees again last night thanks to a phenomenal display from rookie lefty Keegan Akin. The 6-1 scoreline flattered the Yankees and the score would have been more if it was not for a brain freeze from the ballboy (well, “ballman”) down the right-field baseline at Oriole Park.
Gerrit Cole found himself in a hole once again with the Orioles leading 3-0 in the bottom of the 6th with the bases loaded. Rio Ruiz ripped a groundball inside the first baseman and it was called a fair ball. Then the slightly mature ballboy decided he fancied a bit of fielding practice.
https://gfycat.com/miserablereasonablebeauceron
It was eventually ruled a double and the Orioles went up 5-0.
https://twitter.com/MarlyRiveraESPN/status/1302418248953204737
Not surprisingly, fans lapped it up.
Literally ONE person could have interfered w the fair ball hit in the @Orioles game (the ball boy)… and he interfered. 🤣🤣🤣 Fella was showing his glove skills!
— Tyler Daniel (@TylerDaniel28) September 6, 2020
White Sox Do It In Style
The upstarts from the South Side of Chicago improved to 25-15 and are one of the most exciting teams to watch in baseball. The first reason is Jose Abreu. The veteran first baseman has been phenomenal at the plate and he leads the American League in both hits (51) and total bases (91). He was on an 18-game hitting streak going into today’s contest, with 9 home runs, 26 RBIs, and a 1.298 OPS in that time. Wow! Then he did this at the top of the 1st facing rookie Kris Bubic…
https://gfycat.com/FluffyBlissfulIlladopsis
Luis Robert has also been hot with the bat, but it was his dazzling skills in the outfield today. Here he is laying out in center field for Alex Colome with the game on the line.
LUIS ROBERT
15% catch probability
A 5-star play ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Needed to cover 86 ft of distance in 4.5 seconds of opportunity time pic.twitter.com/hqzJJ6IjTp
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 6, 2020
And we cannot possibly leave out the enigmatic Eloy Jimenez. Here he is rounding off our section on style!
We’re about 2 weeks away from Eloy playing with his jersey completely unbuttoned pic.twitter.com/OY1DgsBKQN
— Jack (@WhiteSox_Jack) September 6, 2020
Sometimes The Game Is Just Fun
The “We Love Baseball” team here at Pitcher List spend most of our waking minutes searching out the fun in baseball to bring to you all. Here is a roundup of players having the most fun ever playing baseball. First up, it’s Byron Buxton using his cheetah-like speed to beat out a ground ball to shortstop Willi Castro to give the Minnesota Twins a walk-off win after the game was tied 3-3 in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs.
Wanna see Byron Buxton beat out an infield single to win the game? Wanna see him do it again?💨 pic.twitter.com/zLE21laQzi
— Cut4 (@Cut4) September 6, 2020
After hitting 3 home runs for the Cincinnati Reds tonight, third baseman Eugenio Suarez obviously thought he has mastered baseball so why not try out a new sport.
Eugenio Suárez has three home runs tonight, but he can also do this. We'll let you decide which is cooler. pic.twitter.com/hlt06BMmri
— Cut4 (@Cut4) September 6, 2020
And finally, during their game against the Cardinals today, the Chicago Cubs dugout tried to muster up some energy for a rally and achieved new heights in tomfoolery.
The @Cubs create their own energy! pic.twitter.com/pAUlL3ZCJp
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) September 5, 2020
Textbook 5-3-5 Double Play
I have a confession, I love me some good defense. So, it is somewhat surprising that this segment features the Seattle Mariners, one of the worst defensive teams in baseball over the past few years. However, it is a new dawn in Seattle with young guns Evan White, JP Crawford, and Shed Long Jr., and the reliable Kyle Seager manning the diamond. Here they combine for a bit of magic.
The 5-3-5 double play. Textbook. pic.twitter.com/6VXeAUV9ks
— MLB (@MLB) September 6, 2020
The Mariners own social media was quick to take the credit, “Exactly as we drew it up,” they tweeted.
Virtual Fan Slide
Presented with one comment – fail.
FOX virtual fans love sitting on tarps pic.twitter.com/N6BOGryjjT
— The Rickey Henderson of Blogs (@RickeyBlog) September 5, 2020
