Welcome back to “Best MLB Moments,” Tuesday edition! It’s the show where we take all the best moments from yesterday’s games and compress them into one hilarious page of text filled with bad jokes and great gifs that might make you exhale slightly out of your nose in amusement. There’s simply nothing better. Let’s talk baseball.
Akil Baddoo vs. the World
Boy, it feels like just yesterday we were watching Tigers rookie Akil Baddoo introduce himself to the baseball world by homering on the first Major League pitch he saw, a rare feat last accomplished by Willson Contreras in 2016. Oh, wait, no, that was Sunday. Yesterday was when he topped that feat with a ninth-inning grand slam in a loss to the Twins, making him the first Tiger in franchise history to go deep in his first two career games.
Now he’s moved on from home runs to walk-off hits, which is precisely what he did against his former organization, the Twins, on Tuesday afternoon. Roll tape.
What can't @AkilBaddoo do? pic.twitter.com/69M09U5SHp
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 6, 2021
Time flies, eh? For Baddoo — the new most popular man in Detroit — it was only a matter of time before his teammates caught up with him with the ol’ postgame ice bath. Luckily for us, they waited until he was on air with the Tigers’ broadcast team in the dugout, which led to this delightful near-bleep-word moment on live TV:
The only way anyone can cool down Baddoo š„¶ pic.twitter.com/5CwlbzxbxP
— Cut4 (@Cut4) April 6, 2021
The 22-year-old Baddoo, a consummate professional already (with his 1.750 career OPS), was able to save himself at the last moment with a classic “Oh, shiiiaaoooow!” Strong work, kid. I, for one, can’t wait to see what he says tomorrow after he inevitably hits for the cycle in game no. 4.
An Expensive Foul Ball
Suffice it to say, it was not a good day for Bally Sports’ video equipment managers. Just hours after that nice-looking headset took a dousing in Detroit, the home plate camera in Miami fell victim to a merciless foul-hit-and-run off the bat of Tyler O’Neill. It took the broadcast team a few seconds to figure out what was going on, but the glass on the field was the first hint. And then you see it…
Wait for it.
(via @Marlins)pic.twitter.com/mBfm7MfRDp
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 6, 2021
It’s the “Uh oh… oh no” for me. Here’s one more look, in case you missed it.
https://gfycat.com/ignorantcarefreehalcyon
Poor shutter never stood a chance.
Nutmeg Alley
Baseball may not be “the beautiful game” to most of the world, but it’s certainly learning from it. Just look at this pitch by Brandon Kintzler, which somehow managed to bounceĀ through the legsĀ of Michael Conforto and still wind up in J.T. Realmuto’s glove, and tell me you’ve ever seen a finer nutmeg.
https://gfycat.com/heartyobviousgilamonster
And if that’s not enough to convince you, check out this play, which happened shortly after in the Padres-Giants game:
Aaron Sanchez by way of Martha Graham pic.twitter.com/FiP80fNXMN
— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) April 7, 2021
Yes, that’s Giants starter Aaron Sanchez gracefully avoiding a comebacker off the bat of Ha-Seong Kim. And if you ask me, that clip belongs in a museum somewhere — if for no other reason than because it gave us this image, which seems to show two angry seagulls about to engage in combat.
Naquin Goes Fishing
If Baddoo ever runs out of ideas for new and ridiculous ways to stuff the stat sheet, he might look to Cincinnati’s Tyler Naquin for inspiration. The N.L.’s RBI leader knocked in a whopping seven of them in Tuesday’s 14-1 drubbing of the Pirates, including two home runs, the first of which nearly bounced its way right into the Ohio River.
Tyler Naquin just hit one out of the stadium š³
(via @reds)pic.twitter.com/3Wz6DZ4qfT
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 6, 2021
According to witnesses, the baseball did, in fact, cross the street (thus answering the age-old question: because Tyler Naquin hit the bejeezus out of it, duh) but came to a rest on the other side, where it was picked up by some guy pushing his kid in a stroller outside the park. Legend has it, that kid grew up to be Joey Votto (or something like that).
Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that this game also saw the third Position Player Pitching of the young season — Pittsburgh outfielder Phillip Evans, who threw his team’s only 1-2-3 frame of the game in the 8th inning. Naturally.
Photo courtesy of @Cut4, obviously
Now, all we need is Evan Phillips to find a way to bat against the Pirates, and we’ve got a real story on our hands!
Franchy Plays the Monster
The Rays-Red Sox tilt ended up going to extra innings in dramatic fashion, but it could’ve been over much earlier. That’s if not for this catch by Franchy Cordero, right up against the green monster with two on in the seventh inning of a two-run game.
Franchy, meet the Monster.
Monster, meet Franchy. pic.twitter.com/E6wWx11ldj— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 7, 2021
It was a spectacular catch that saved at least one run and ultimately allowed the Sox to come back and win it in extras. Except… am I the only one who heard that ball clearly smack the monster’s metal facing on the way down? Am I losing my mind here?? As you can see, it was ruled an out after a lengthy review, and the game moved on.
Whatever. Obviously, you’re all really here to see Christian Vazquez riding in a shopping cart in the dugout after hitting the dongshot that tied it in the ninth. So that’s what you’ll get. Enjoy!
https://gfycat.com/officialcoldarrowana
Shohei Waves Goodbye
Finally, because we’re contractually obligated to post Ohtani in every one of these dang things, here’s your daily dose of Sho’ — in this case, hilariously waving goodbye to Mike Trout’s latest bleacher missile.
Good guy Ohtani wishing Mike Trouts homerun a safe trip pic.twitter.com/H7X4jsa6qW
— Baseball Doesn't Exist (@BaseballDoesnt) April 6, 2021
When you see him having that much fun, you know it’s too late. Happy Wednesday, everybody.