A Fan-Filled Friday of Fun
It’s August baseball, and the energy is high in stadiums across the country. Each win is a tremendous boon to morale, and each loss a devastating blow to a team’s momentum.
Stadiums are packed to the brim with fans, and Friday saw some incredibly wholesome, awesome and unique moments in the stands.
First, let’s head over to St. Louis where the Royals faced the Cardinals. A first-inning solo shot by Paul Goldschmidt just cleared the outfield wall, and went to one young fan who understandably couldn’t contain his emotions.
🥺 baseball, man pic.twitter.com/HB48V5j7Ye
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 7, 2021
Have you ever caught a game ball? If so, you’ll understand the pure happiness seen in this moment.
Dad: Why are you crying?
Kid: I just love Paul Goldschmidt pic.twitter.com/tq8mPzy5Cx— cardinalsgifs (@cardinalsgifs) August 7, 2021
Now let’s travel over to Wrigley Field, which played host to a Windy City Showdown. Baseball can bring out the child-like joy in anyone, especially in one lifelong fan Cubs who caught his first foul ball in his final game living in Chicago.
Leonardo Da Vinci wishes he thought of a scene this dramatic.
https://twitter.com/MajorLeagueGIFs/status/1423766185200476166
And finally, off we go to Los Angeles, where we saw another intra-city game, this time with the Angels visiting Dodger Stadium. We saw one fan in Dodger blue tip his cap to David Fletcher’s ground-rule double.
https://twitter.com/MajorLeagueGIFs/status/1423844964908236800
Baseballs bounce unpredictably—we saw that recently with Alcides Escobar. If there’s any moral to glean from these highlights: bring a glove. I wouldn’t be shocked if that Cubs fan woke up with a couple broken bones in his hand.
There’s Never a Bad Time for Hydration
Water break! Don’t forget to drink some high quality H2O today. Yesterday, the grounds crew at Coors Field felt that the grass was looking a little parched in the Mile High City. And so, like what happened to Pedro Martínez and the Mets 16 years ago, out came the waterworks during the middle of a game.
fired up the wrong fountains#Rockies pic.twitter.com/Yiua4UKgam
— RG 📷 (@RyanGreeneDNVR) August 7, 2021
Perhaps it happened because the Rockies were on absolute fire, crushing Sandy Alcántara and the Marlins by a final score of 14 – 2, which was tied for their highest offensive output all year.
Willians Astudillo Cannot Do Wrong
Is there anything La Tortuga can’t do? We all know he’s electric on the mound, but somehow he’s even more majestic while running the bases. On Friday, he did something that you don’t really see happen at first base: a feet-first slide.
Willians Astudillo slides feet first into first base pic.twitter.com/ddeZm2FSE9
— Superdrunkmark69 (@cjzer0) August 7, 2021
A head-first slide is one thing—and there’s a debate as to whether or not it’s even effective. But a feet-first slide is just something you never see done. In this case, it worked out for Astudillo and earned him some respect from Martín Maldonado.
When you get that @Machete1224 wink. pic.twitter.com/pBCgnYfE5t
— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) August 7, 2021
It seems like every day Astudillo does something that completely changes my fragile understanding of the baseball world… and I’m here for it.
The Brew Crew Parties Their Way to .600
It was a huge day in Milwaukee—Craig Counsell gets his 500th managerial win and the Brewers walked it off to increase their lead on the NL Central to seven games.
The Legend of Rowdy Tellez
… IT GROWS. #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/9DumHrtEk5
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) August 7, 2021
But the real highlight happened innings earlier in the Brewers dugout with a spontaneous dance party.
There's a lot happening in this video and it's all perfect.@bruter24 | #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/WcjYGd0Qpi
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 7, 2021
It feels good when you’re tied for the second-best record in all of baseball.
Your 2021 Slow Pitch Record Belongs To…
We have seen a lot of position players take the mound this year, but frankly I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a pitch this slow. Since his professional baseball debut in 2015, Jonathan Araúz has never stepped foot on the mound. But during Toronto’s slaughter of Boston yesterday, he came on to pitch in the eighth and delivered this mind-boggling ball.
https://gfycat.com/betterdeliciousanglerfish
36 MPH?! Before Friday, Danny Mendick held the 2021 slow pitch record at 39.6 MPH. But now, I would say that Araúz has run away with that record.
Here are the official metrics for that airbender:
17 feet of vertical break?!?!?!??! I… I didn’t know that was possible.
Photo by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)