Good morning, and happy Sunday, folks! Hope your weekend is going well and continues to go well today. Yesterday, we had a little bit of everything in baseball; we got one heck of a Subway Series game, a combined no-hitter, a near no-hitter, and plenty of other great moments that can only happen in baseball. Read on below to discover some of the goodness from yesterday:
The New York Subway Series
The Yankees and Mets played at Citi Field yesterday and did their best to honor the many different heroes that gave their all on September 11, 2001. In honor of the first responders on the scene, Pete Alonso and Aaron Judge wore custom cleats emblazoned with the words “Never Forget,” among other things:
Pete Alonso and Aaron Judge will wear custom cleats tonight to honor first responders. pic.twitter.com/ckyfGoU4Gw
— MLB (@MLB) September 11, 2021
Before the game, the Yankees and Mets players took time to honor those we lost on 9/11:
The @mets and @Yankees come together on the field before the Subway Series. ❤️🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/4d8CLB8D9h
— MLB (@MLB) September 12, 2021
Joe Torre and Bobby Valentine, who managed the Yankees and Mets respectively during the 2001 season, threw out the ceremonial first pitches before the game:
Joe Torre and Bobby Valentine threw out the first pitch before the Mets and Yankees game pic.twitter.com/I0Rn60NW9J
— Baseball Bros (@BaseballBros) September 11, 2021
The Yankees and Mets also wore FDNY hats to honor the first respondents:
Tonight, we say thank you. pic.twitter.com/vtlyiV53cL
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 11, 2021
There were so many great ways that people chose to honor the heroes on 9/11, but if I continued to list them all, we might be here a while. There were two other clips that I thought were worth sharing on this topic. And, while they’re not exactly from any September 11, they are distinctly intertwined with that date for one reason or another.
In the first baseball game back in New York City following 9/11, Mike Piazza hit one of the most memorable home runs in baseball history:
#NeverForget pic.twitter.com/eXm2RNUzMe
— MLB (@MLB) September 11, 2021
Current Mets catcher James McCann also homered yesterday in a bit of a cool parallel.
Then, in the first World Series game in New York City since the attacks, then-President George W Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch:
The greatest first pitch ever thrown in a baseball game. President George W Bush at Yankee Stadium in the 2001 World Series. pic.twitter.com/UEkVg2xtpI
— Jason Romano (@JasonRomano) September 11, 2021
George W. Bush, in a bulletproof vest, throwing a true strike from the mound. Well done, sir. These moments are shared every year on the anniversary of the attacks and they always make me emotional. Every time, without fail. May we always remember these moments.
The Cubs Have Themselves a Top Prospect
This kid was ready for that foul ball.
You only get moments like this in baseball. pic.twitter.com/EuyA5MCaj4
— MLB (@MLB) September 11, 2021
And his dad is so happy for him! What a wholesome moment.
Plus, what a snag! If that kid can make those kinds of catches with regularity, he could be the next great Cubs infielder!
Spelling Error
We have plenty of errors (including one below!) in baseball these days, but none more egregious than this one in Detroit:
The Tigers scoreboard spelled Elvis Presley wrong pic.twitter.com/V738Stu0f5
— MLB Errors (@mlberrors) September 11, 2021
(Ironically, the one letter they were missing is the one used in scorebooks to denote errors)
Just a Few Outs Away…
The Blue Jays and Orioles played two seven-inning games yesterday. In the second game, the Orioles sent Keegan Akin to the mound to face the dangerous Toronto offense. And, to his credit, Akin absolutely dominated through the first 6 innings, allowing zero hits from a lineup with an MVP and a couple of All-Stars. We were all wondering whether Akin would get the same lukewarm reaction as Madison Bumgarner got after his 7-inning “no-hitter.”
In fact, the Keegans of the world were especially excited:
Keegan Akin is one inning away from a seven-inning no-hitter (which wouldn't officially count as a no-hitter).
Keegans worldwide rush to their televisions. Our group chat is popping.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) September 12, 2021
Ironically, Keegan Matheson is the Blue Jays reporter for MLB.com, so I can’t tell whether he was truly excited for a fellow Keegan or if he was trying to jinx Keegan Akin into giving up a hit.
Whatever his intentions were, the jinx certainly worked:
The Blue Jays were getting no-hit and about to lose before this inning began (seven-inning game) 😳 pic.twitter.com/4Fja3dLOLl
— Very Baseball Moments (@verymlb) September 12, 2021
I think 11 runs in an inning will play pretty well.
An ACTUAL No-Hitter
One team did manage to no-hit another team for 9 full innings. The Milwaukee Brewers no-hit Cleveland, helping set an MLB record for the most no-hitters in a single season. Cleveland also joined another cool club: one of the few teams to be no-hit more than once in a single season.
The 9th no-hitter of 2021 belongs to the @Brewers 👏 pic.twitter.com/BuKWMHj0jB
— Cut4 (@Cut4) September 12, 2021
The no-hitter belonged to Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader, who absolutely dominated the Cleveland lineup yesterday. Burnes finished 8 strong innings and struck out 14 Cleveland batters, while Hader pitched a clean ninth inning to deliver the no-hitter.
Spelling Error
The error, as promised, from yesterday’s Subway Series game:
E4 😬 pic.twitter.com/zxPOWarB6D
— MLB Errors (@mlberrors) September 12, 2021
He, uh, missed the throw to first, I would say.
Enjoy your Sunday (or don’t, I’m not your boss)!
Photo by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)