Last Monday the challenge was how few games were on the slate. This time, the challenge was sifting through all of the social media content of teams and teammates lobbying for more All-Star votes for their players and friends. The first progress report on the votes was released yesterday:
First #AllStarBallot update just dropped 👀
Vote ➡️ https://t.co/Y5U1wwbAAO pic.twitter.com/9XbxcTamqY
— MLB (@MLB) June 14, 2021
Not everybody was pleased:
Just saw the top ten in all star votes. What a joke…
— Isiah Kiner-Falefa (@Isiahkf11) June 14, 2021
It wasn’t just IKF, though, as teams and players sent up tweetstorms pushing for their players/teammates. For example, Chris Bassitt of the Oakland A’s showed his support for Matt Olsen and did so with a Dwight Kurt Schrute III gif which, by any measure, is worth bonus points:
Matt Olson … go vote for him right now. Tell your friends…. Tell your momma… tell your neighbor…. Matt Olson. #allstar pic.twitter.com/jEL6UVTGYw
— Chris Bassitt (@C_Bass419) June 14, 2021
Nonetheless, there were several gems and some really fun moments to share with you, faithful reader, starting with this magic from 48-year-old Bartolo Colon as Big Sexy through a complete game in Mexico:
48 year old Bartolo tossing a 90 pitch complete game in Mexico and the two-seamer still got it pic.twitter.com/Hf0YRLSxVn
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) June 15, 2021
Jomboy also tweeted something out about identical twins and genetics, but it was far too disturbing to include here. It was nearly as disturbing as this news:
Bieber lands on IL with shoulder strain https://t.co/imjCb2b7OG pic.twitter.com/kSPTYhmlzV
— theScore MLB (@theScoreMLB) June 14, 2021
There was also some promising news on the injury front, though nothing imminent:
Eloy Jiménez has been medically cleared to resume baseball activities at the White Sox complex in AZ. This phase of the rehabilitation process is estimated to take a minimum of 4 weeks, after which Eloy could be cleared for a rehabilitation assignment with a Sox affiliate.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 14, 2021
There was this fan realization about how hard it is to hit a baseball:
I gotta stop complaining about bad swings. https://t.co/Ya9lu4iQoD
— Nuggets/Bengals Fan (@WhoDeyNuggets) June 15, 2021
And this embarrassing moment for the hitter from the DBU – Virginia game:
Tough look when you pimp a ball that doesn’t leave the yard pic.twitter.com/6pZTJQAJAn
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) June 14, 2021
Brad Marchand, without any more hockey to play, made an appearance at Fenway:
Spotted a familiar face in the crowd! pic.twitter.com/tls9HzggvX
— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 15, 2021
And we got this gif from Codify that is just fun:
Marwin González's 90 MPH heater and 43 MPH Eephus synced to the swings instead of the releases. 😂 pic.twitter.com/4rKXs3eKmC
— Codify, Inc. (@CodifyBaseball) June 14, 2021
And with that, and this Christian Yelich mood…
Yeli’s a vibe 😁 pic.twitter.com/gCg4OCcI4G
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 14, 2021
…we are ready to dive into the night’s best moments.
The Blue Jays Are Good
The north-of-the-border-playing-south-of-the-border-but-only-until-it-is-safe-to-return-to-Canada Toronto Blue Jays mash and their Twitter account doesn’t want you to lose sight of how good they are:
POV: You’re looking at the best lineup in baseball! 😃🕺 pic.twitter.com/rBPnLmNbME
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 14, 2021
BEST HITTER ON THE PLANET. #PLAKATA pic.twitter.com/FdWkBmbCuv
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 15, 2021
They don’t want you to forget about their new ace, either:
The Man' is a PRESENCE 🗣
Alek's night: 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 Ks! pic.twitter.com/l0mqlnbcXk
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 15, 2021
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is Good
A big part of the Blue Jays being so exciting this year is because of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s breakout. He had struggled a bit in his first big-league experience and going into drafts this year, many fantasy players were torn about how to invest. Now there are two groups of people: those who were hype and those who were dead wrong.
Here is another angle on the home run he hit against the Red Sox from above:
Vlad quiets the crowd. 🤫 pic.twitter.com/3F2oNwEGuA
— MLB (@MLB) June 15, 2021
And another with a good look at trot:
The backwards skip is such a clean way to pimp a home run pic.twitter.com/9fBhwSW9XJ
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 15, 2021
Eno Sarris had this to say:
Bold predicted Vladito would easily hit 30 homers this year, shoulda put “in the first half” dang it
— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) June 15, 2021
Our own Alex Fast sent this out:
91% of Vladimir Guerrero Jr's HRs have had an exit velo over 100 mph.
50% have had an exit velo over 110 mph.
— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) June 15, 2021
And Batting Stance Guy sent this one out that simultaneously works to warm my heart while also making me feel old as ducks. That’s the expression, right? It’s the way my phone always sends it in texts, so…
Current leading @MLB All-Star Game vote getter. @BlueJays pic.twitter.com/JVuHwxEoeJ
— Batting Stance Guy (@BattingStanceG) June 14, 2021
Team Twitters
Some accounts are just a fantastic follow and sometimes accounts just connect with a Tweet, really barrel it up, and connect with the sweet spot. Yesterday, the Cleveland Baseball Team’s account did just that:
Had a mild case of the runs in the 1st inning.
We lead 3-0.#OurCLE pic.twitter.com/ySnw0VkSla
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) June 15, 2021
Totally gross and totally perfect. They did at least also put this photo in front of our eyeballs as well:
Baseball is the best.#OurCLE pic.twitter.com/ONbVIFQqEU
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) June 15, 2021
The Cubs celebrated back-to-back jacks by Anthony Rizzo and newcomer to the awesome-at-baseball-club Patrick Wisdom:
Rizz and Wis go back-to-back.#CubTogether pic.twitter.com/d97eh5m4Xm
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 15, 2021
Then there was this exchange between the Tigers, seemingly starting with a self-own, and Cleveland:
When the stars and the moon align, the baseball will travel.
That's just Castrology, folks. pic.twitter.com/2fLJUqHQAL
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 15, 2021
Well, when you factor in the Gemini moon and Jupiter in Scorpio then you look to the sun, this all adds up to …
a bunch of nonsense.
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 15, 2021
And there was this from the White Sox that I couldn’t NOT include:
Not Good(win) enough! pic.twitter.com/kYrNQVtLRk
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 15, 2021
If I had a nickel for every time I heard that joke…
There was this pun-tastic post from the Washington Nationals:
Another 5-STARlin play by Castro!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️#NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/AnlgT5KEyn
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 15, 2021
And, finally, this reminder that Fernando Tatís Jr. is not the only young stud on the Padres:
Trent for two big ones. #HungryForMore pic.twitter.com/y6BQlMM6uu
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 15, 2021
Milestones
Yesterday, Adam Wainwright hit 1900 career strikeouts:
1️⃣9️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ career strikeouts for Waino 👊 pic.twitter.com/YHSQTc13kY
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 15, 2021
Mitch Moreland got his 1,000th hit:
Number 1,000 for number 18 👏@budweiserusa | #LegendaryMoments pic.twitter.com/pJIPArEEeM
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) June 15, 2021
And the smartest guy in the game, Patrick Wisdom, made a little history too:
Patrick Wisdom joins Hank Sauer (1949) as the only @Cubs to hit 9+ HR in their first 20 games with the team since 1901. pic.twitter.com/IAqFa6smDj
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) June 15, 2021
Okay, it’s not fair to expect him to be the smartest player in the league, but he should at least be able to dispense some really sage advice.
San Diego Padres‘ Booth
This is simply a Don Orsillo appreciation segment:
truly cannot get enough of @mudcat55 and @donorsillo together 😭 pic.twitter.com/GaCCgfmwb2
— Cut4 (@Cut4) June 15, 2021
Players Being Awesome
Some guys are awesome because they are so good at baseball and do incredible things. Some are awesome because they are fun, play with intensity, or are super fun to watch. Some guys are both. Here are some guys:
If you're reading this, Kyle Schwarber just launched another SCHWAR💣
(Yes, this is a new tweet.)@kschwarb12 // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/ieSjJxN6lE
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 15, 2021
4 homers in the last 3 days. @kschwarb12 is hot. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/psRJ4DcYFj
— MLB (@MLB) June 15, 2021
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 15, 2021
.@_David_Peterson with six strong frames. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/w7xPwiUPEy
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 15, 2021
Yadi has always been heads-up.
Powered by @Mitel pic.twitter.com/dcLpthJ5OW
— MLB (@MLB) June 15, 2021
We are thinking of a baseball player.
He has caught more innings this season than anyone else in @MLB.
He has started the last two All-Star Games for the National League.Any guesses?https://t.co/iq0lKgoH7i pic.twitter.com/0o9dyNu8ng
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 15, 2021
O’Neill for the lead! pic.twitter.com/jWbDYFVIUE
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 15, 2021
.@cojo__18 patiently waiting for @Ry_McMahon to do the “knock, knock” back 🥺 pic.twitter.com/WMnRGYNiCt
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) June 15, 2021
Of course, Matt Olson gets the golden trident today. pic.twitter.com/3VfOunNksE
— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) June 13, 2021
Matt Olson is ON FIRE 🔥
His 10th career 2-HR game earned him the postgame trident 😂 pic.twitter.com/DYH4It1Wej
— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) June 13, 2021
verdugohype.gif pic.twitter.com/l8cqQvLHbC
— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 15, 2021
Strikeouts are better in slow mo. 😍 pic.twitter.com/Qy69oIwNlo
— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 15, 2021
The Mariner Moose
There isn’t much to dissect here, but this was pretty well crafted:
tall, really strong, loves the outdoors, never blinks, can do backflips, has antlers https://t.co/lmlfHiL1tx
— Mariner Moose (@MarinerMoose) June 14, 2021
And that’s going to do it for this installment of Best MLB Moments. Check us out tomorrow and every day.
Oh, you thought I was actually going to let you leave without seeing Joey Votto salsa dance? You silly goose, you. Here you go:
Come for the Votto HR.
Stay for the Votto/Suarez salsa. pic.twitter.com/nlSOdmVDqd— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) June 15, 2021
Have an awesome Tuesday!
Photo by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)