Last night, the Marlins had their first walk-off win of the year, and it came in the first of a seven-game series they’re playing against the Phillies. Because every sentence you say about baseball this season has to be ridiculous in some way. As amazing as it sounds, we’re coming into the final stretch of the regular season here, and with the expanded playoff format, there’s still a lot that can change in the coming weeks. While it feels like Opening Day was practically yesterday, the season is already nearly over.
So let’s start off with some fun with career arcs!
2B(etts)
Tonight's lineup at D-backs: #Dodgers | @Biofreeze pic.twitter.com/fp8urAFH9F
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 10, 2020
As weird as this lineup looks at first blush, Mookie Betts has a history in the infield, he was originally listed as a shortstop when he was drafted by the Red Sox back in 2011 (in the 5th round!), and he started 14 games at second for Boston in 2014. Going forward, it sounds like LA intends to make this a semi-regular thing, too:
Sounds like Mookie Betts will be moving back and forth between RF and 2B from here on out.
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) September 10, 2020
Of course, given shifts and all that, Mookie ended up spending plenty of time tonight standing out in shallow RF, where several ground balls were hit his way that ended up being scored as singles. So, honestly not that different from when he’s in the outfield.
In some kind of bizarre corollary to “if you’re playing out of position, every ball will be hit to you,” Mookie also found himself in the middle of a very strange at-bat:
https://gfycat.com/betterglitteringiguanodon
The booth was mighty confused as to Mookie’s status at this point, but he stayed at the plate and fouled off the next pitch before manager Dave Roberts realized something was amiss and initiated a crew chief review of…the count.
https://gfycat.com/leftskeletalambushbug
After much deliberation with New York, it turns out that you can continue to trust everything you hear on TV and Mookie took his base.
https://gfycat.com/boguspastcornsnake
Know who never loses count of things? Robots. Just saying.
Safety First!
Out in Arlington, it’s the Rangers grounds crew handling foul balls this year, and if you miss a few, they make sure you feel confident about being able to get in front of ‘em with some spare armor they happen to have kicking around.
Special shout out to the shorts under the leg guards look, that’s iconic.
Role Models
Tyler O’Neill is a strong young man from the Home Of Votto aka Canada. He showed off that strength yesterday by hammering a 3-run homer against the Tigers, and then showed that beloved Canadian politeness by remembering to pull up his mask on his way around the bases.
https://gfycat.com/jaggedfinegallowaycow
Be like Tyler!
#DadStrength
Speaking of big strong boys, it’s no secret that Mike Trout is one of em. The Millville Meteor made sure you didn’t forget as he cranked a 449’ home run out to left field in Texas yesterday:
🚨📢SWEET SIXTEEN📢🚨 pic.twitter.com/gJF6cbjLCA
— Cut4 (@Cut4) September 10, 2020
Mike was unable to turn off his inhuman muscleage when he returned to the dugout and was looking for a comfy spot to lean:
https://gfycat.com/pinkpaleaffenpinscher
Props to the Rangers grounds crew for the polish job on that sheet of plexiglass, I guess that catcher’s gear doesn’t interfere with the ability to clean a window.
Full Extension
First base defense is the Rodney Dangerfield of the infield, it gets no respect! And listen, I get it, as somebody who really really enjoys watching Luke Voit fall over in slo-mo every time he has to stretch beyond a specific limit. But a good first baseman is practically a gymnast! Look at this full-on, no hesitation split from Ronald Guzmán to secure the out:
https://gfycat.com/granularfluidamethystinepython
That’s no daylight on the dirt there! You can’t see it but I’m holding up a cardboard sign that says 10 on it.
Switch Throwing
Willi Castro showed off his ability to throw from both sides today, although not in the same way as amphibious pitcher Pat Venditte. In game one of their doubleheader against the Cardinals, Castro dug in on the left side to face Jack Flaherty, and ended up sending his bat flying into the St. Louis dugout on this 2-1 pitch
https://gfycat.com/dismalyellowishdiscus
Then, in game two facing southpaw Austin Gomber he swapped to the right-handed batters box and…let another one rip:
https://gfycat.com/questionablegrayivorybackedwoodswallow
It’s tough to get that kind of velo and spin from both sides!
The Cueto Effect
It would appear that Jonny Cueto has been a positive influence on the San Francisco pitching staff, as Wandy Peralta took an opportunity last night to really let that leg haaaaang:
https://gfycat.com/playfulleadingkakarikis
The booth compared his mechanics to a flamingo, which seems more like something you’d expect from a Rays/Marlins game given the geography…
Positive Contact
The NFL returned last night, so I guess ball security was on everybody’s mind. I’m not sure how else to explain this trip by home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski to ensure that Ty Buttrey definitely, for sure, absolutely, positively got the ball.
https://gfycat.com/preciousdearjaeger
Or maybe Mike is just a really big Taking Back Sunday fan, who am I to judge?