Another Wednesday, another great day of baseball. There were a ton of fun things to happen on Wednesday, from a first baseman striking out an MVP to a pitcher with one of the better TOOTBLANs of the season so far. Teammates got hyped and Jesús Aguilar had some fun. Let’s get into it.
Rizzo K’s Freeman
In my opinion, this is arguably the best thing to come out of Wednesday’s action. Down 10-0 in the seventh inning, the Cubs brought All-Star first baseman Anthony Rizzo out to pitch against the Braves. What he did, to the surprise of many, was strike out reigning NL MVP, Freddie Freeman.
Take a seat, FREDERICK.@ARizzo44 pic.twitter.com/ArqdIRVuM3
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 29, 2021
Rizzo got him with the breaker. It’s hard for pitchers to strike out Freeman, let alone a position player! While this would make this article because of what Rizzo did, their reactions are what makes it so good. Even before the pitch, you can see the two of them smiling from ear to ear. Then, Rizzo throws the pitch, and Freeman whiffs. He backpedals and starts laughing immediately. Not only that, but Rizzo throws his arms up and catches the ball with his barehands. The fans laugh, and Rizzo looks back at him and they share a chuckle. Here’s what Freeman had to say:
"It's a recipe for disaster when you face position players, especially one of your friends too. That's one strikeout I'm OK with, I guess."@FreddieFreeman5 laughs about striking out against @ARizzo44. pic.twitter.com/tMiAr1QghW
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) April 29, 2021
Terrific.
Wood’s TOOTBLAN
Alex Wood dealt against the Rockies on Wednesday. But, if we’re being honest, that might not be the thing we remember. Instead, we will remember what he did on the basepaths. Wood walked and a Tommy La Stella single sent him to second. On a 1-2 count with one out, Wood tried to steal third. Rockies’ pitcher Jordan Sheffield stepped off, and this was the result:
Alex Wood: Threat on the bases? 😂 pic.twitter.com/ul4QAqSaHy
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 29, 2021
It was a curious choice by Wood and an even worse landing. When you’re dealing, this isn’t something you want to happen on live television.
Alex Wood, the baserunner: "I just thought I was invisible, I guess. … It wasn't the smartest decision I've ever made."
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) April 29, 2021
Well, Alex, it turns out you weren’t invisible. It’s no matter because the pitching line speaks for itself.
Aguilar Has a Fun Day at Work
Jesús Aguilar has been one of the best sources of entertainment on a team that includes Jazz Chisholm, which says a lot. Against the Brewers on Wednesday, he had a lot of fun. The first one came after a walk.
Lol Jesús Aguilar is the best pic.twitter.com/KuQiBAV1B8
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 28, 2021
Aguilar is a big guy and maybe this is his try out for the UFC, who knows. He might need to work on his hands a bit, but he’s got the quick feet of a first baseman. Let’s just say that I wouldn’t want to see him in the octagon.
How could he have more fun than that, you ask? Well, he tried to avoid a tag at first base. I don’t think it went as planned:
no one's having more fun at the ballpark than Jesús. pic.twitter.com/VCZRhA7EEt
— Cut4 (@Cut4) April 28, 2021
He tries to avoid the tag but just goes a bit out of the baseline. After that, he tries to backpedal to second! I don’t really think that is how the rules work, but you have to take any advantage you can get. It was a nice try.
Cruz Gets Hyped
If we’re being honest, when players get mic’d up, it isn’t all that exciting. That definitely was not the case with Nelson Cruz on Wednesday. Cruz is someone that has a lot of fun on the field. You might remember the picture he took with Joe West during the 2017 All-Star game. So when he was mic’d up on Wednesday, he had just as much fun.
Willians Astudillo hit a homer and Cruz had something to say about it:
Nelson Cruz was mic'd up and excited to see Willians Astudillo homer today
So excited in fact, he almost knocked his helmet off while celebrating in the dugout pic.twitter.com/nW9Zh7UQbS
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 28, 2021
Not only do you love the emotion, even in a five-run game, but you love the celebration with his teammate. He was so hyped that he almost smacked his helmet off. Astudillo recovered the helmet before it could come off all the way, though. Here’s some more:
this is how we're hyping up our friends in 2021. pic.twitter.com/5etbBZeN1N
— Cut4 (@Cut4) April 28, 2021
Nelson loves it all.
Well, that’s it for today. Wednesday was fun, and I’m sure Thursday will be just as exciting. I hope you had a great Wednesday and here’s to an even better Thursday!