One other week, one other likelihood to go searching baseball and see one thing that amazes you. That’s a part of what I like concerning the recreation: strange issues are all the time occurring. As all the time, I famous a number of that notably tickled my fancy, and now I’m going to jot down a bunch of phrases about them within the hope that you simply like them too. Shout out, per standard, to Zach Lowe, who got here up with this concept for a column years in the past and have become my favourite basketball author in consequence. Let’s get going.
1. Cavan Biggio’s Instinctual Brilliance
When the Jays’ trio of legacy-admission prospects had been breaking into the majors, I used to be highest on Cavan Biggio relative to trade consensus. I’ve undoubtedly been improper in that evaluation. Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. become stars, however Biggio is extra of a luxurious backup. He can play lots of defensive positions, however none of them notably properly, and he’s a league-average hitter. That’s a superbly serviceable addition to your crew, however it’s hardly going to set the league on fireplace, and he’s been worse than that in 2023.
However my Biggio crush remains to be round, and also you higher consider that I’m going to focus on his enjoyable performs. Let’s set the scene: Monday night time in Cleveland, a scoreless recreation within the high of the eighth. Biggio drew a begin at second base, and with Daulton Varsho on first, he clubbed a no-doubter to lifeless middle to provide the Jays a 2–0 lead. Hey! Biggio heads, unite, he’s again in enterprise.
However the Jays couldn’t hold that momentum going. The Guardians got here out swinging within the backside of the inning. With one out, they hit three straight singles to chop the result in 2–1. The state of affairs was precarious for Toronto: first and third, one out, and maybe the perfect batter coming to the plate in Steven Kwan.
Kwan doesn’t strike out. He’s onerous to double up. If you wish to rating a run from third with lower than one out, these are the precise abilities you want. The Jays had been going to want one thing particular to carry onto the lead Biggio had given them. And what have you learnt, they acquired one thing particular:
Off the bat, I believed there was little likelihood of that ball turning right into a double play. It wasn’t hit onerous sufficient for a throw to second to get again to first base in time. Kwan was reserving it down the road. The outdated commonplace — throw to first, then get Bo Naylor in a rundown — wouldn’t work, as a result of it could permit the run to attain. You need to report the third out on a pressure play to cease the run from counting.
Biggio knew all that earlier than the play; years of follow and expertise make main leaguers fairly good at these sorts of issues. However he most likely hadn’t turned a double play fairly like this one earlier than. Fortunately, the trail he took to the ball pointed him in the best course. Have a look at poor Naylor, frozen like a deer in headlights due to the conflicting calls for of avoiding a tag and avoiding a forceout:
Just one play might forestall the tying run from scoring, and Biggio didn’t hesitate. He ran a direct line to first base, adjusted to tag Naylor out, and beat Kwan by half a step to show a virtuoso double play and protect the lead. Ninety-nine occasions out of 100, that play seems otherwise; the Guardians virtually all the time get a run in, by some means. However Biggio’s second of brilliance stymied them. He knew it, too:
2. The Best Showman
Baseball is leisure, and Julio Rodríguez is aware of it. This merchandise isn’t much more complicated than that. Tuesday night time, Fernando Tatis Jr. laced a ball to deep middle. Rodriguez went again. The ball was in that good grey space the place solely a spectacular catch might forestall a house run, however a spectacular catch was no less than attainable. After which:
Did he catch it? Julio wasn’t saying. He got here down and took a number of nonchalant steps, the frustration beginning to creep into his gait:
We’ve all seen that response earlier than. Oh properly, he missed it. Powerful play, them’s the breaks. Logan Gilbert, who had surrendered the blast, stalked across the mound trying upset. Tatis broke into a house run trot. However wait! Rodríguez had one thing so as to add:
What a delight — no less than, if you happen to’re not a Padres fan. That cheeky grin, that sly reveal; the play was spectacular sufficient, however the presence to play up the drama afterwards is spectacular. I need my baseball to be enjoyable, and it’s onerous to think about it being far more enjoyable than that. Extra sleight of hand, please. Extra Julio doing just about something, please.
3. Announcers Discussing No-Hitters
As you might need heard, Michael Lorenzen threw a no-hitter on Wednesday night time. Since time immemorial, a no-hitter has include a superstition: don’t speak about it. That’s extra of a gamers within the dugout factor, however announcers are sometimes former gamers, which suggests they keep on the custom all the identical. It results in lots of amusing moments the place one announcer obeys the unwritten rule whereas the opposite doesn’t.
The primary instance: John Kruk, naturally. Within the eighth inning, play-by-play man Tom McCarthy famous that this was the deepest Lorenzen had gotten right into a begin with out permitting a success. Kruk, usually loquacious, went silent for fifteen seconds. After a pause, McCarthy in the reduction of in. “Hey, why are you me like that?” he prodded Kruk.
“You realize, I strive that can assist you and educate you, and it simply falls on deaf ears,” Kruk lastly responded. He didn’t even say what he meant; the which means was implied. You possibly can’t say something about the truth that there are not any hits. It’s a rule! You could possibly really feel Kruk’s indignation in his supply. He rigorously prevented saying the rest, McCarthy let the matter drop, and the remaining is historical past.
I acquired a giggle out of that, however I wouldn’t be writing about this if it weren’t for one more instance. Tuesday night time, Mets minor leaguer Mark Vasil took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning. Now, I received’t misinform you: I watch lots of baseball, however I’m not watching the Syracuse Mets on a random Tuesday night time in August. However you realize who does hold tabs on what’s happening in Syracuse? The massive league broadcast.
When Vasil completed the eighth inning, subject stage reporter Steve Gelbs hopped onto the published to ship an replace. “I’m again for one thing that folks will get very indignant with me if it adjustments,” he famous, and you can inform immediately what was coming subsequent. “Via eight innings in Triple-A, Mike Vasil… let’s simply say, he has not allowed one thing.”
Gary Cohen took the bait instantly. “Like a success?” Gelbs toed the celebration line, although. “I didn’t say it!” he exclaimed, and refused to debate it any additional. The massive league Mets inning ended shortly after that, which lower the dialogue off there, however you can inform the entire sales space was able to pile on Cohen, and possibly needle Gelbs a bit within the discount.
Vasil didn’t full his no-hitter, and Cohen famous it within the subsequent inning. Gelbs had a retort prepared. “Hey, you stated the no hits factor, I didn’t,” he cracked. The Mets sales space being what it’s, they managed to stretch the bit out into an extended back-and-forth between Gelbs and Keith Hernandez, however that’s only a common Tuesday night time for them. The no-hitter whispering is much less a Mets particular and extra one thing woven into the material of the sport.
I utterly perceive not mentioning a no-hitter within the dugout. The man throwing the no-hitter wants to focus on pitching, not fascinated with historical past. It’s all the time humorous to me when announcers get in on it, although. Clearly, they aren’t affecting the result. Baseball is only a recreation of superstition, I suppose. This one specifically all the time provides me a great chuckle.
4. Sneak Assault Fastballs
You hear loads about ambush hitters. I wager you realize precisely what I imply after I say these two phrases collectively: a hitter sits on a specific pitch in an advantageous rely, and when it comes, they assault. Possibly it’s a first-pitch fastball, or a 3–0 fastball — okay, it’s most likely a fastball. However both manner, it’s a well-liked concept, and a enjoyable one: you get some superior highlights that begin with fastballs with hit-me indicators on them.
I like watching strikeouts, so my pursuits additionally run in the other way. I like when pitchers weaponize that crushable fastball by throwing it in sudden counts. It’s a visible spectacle; right here comes the right pitch to hit, and the batter pins the bat to their shoulder and watches it fly by. It’s even higher if it’s a strikeout.
Watch Zach Eflin cook dinner:
Phil Bickford can do it, too:
Poor Christopher Morel was giving Mets pitchers goal follow:
I might hold going with these all day. Every thing on this phase occurred within the final week. Right here’s a lollipop that Robert Stephenson lobbed previous Jake Rogers:
Logan Allen threw a 91-mph fastball previous the Dwelling Run Derby champion prefer it was nothing:
Look, possibly you’re not a baseball weirdo like me. Possibly you need to see colossal residence runs and nasty curveballs that scrape the clouds earlier than bouncing within the grime. There’s simply one thing about seeing a pitch in essentially the most hittable location in baseball and watching skilled hitters freeze of their tracks despite the fact that they know there are two strikes. I’m not saying this can be a good technique, however it’s one I’m all the time glad to see.
5. Simply Throw Strikes
You’ve heard it. A reliever comes out of the bullpen wild, falling behind the primary batter 3–0 and finally strolling him. He will get behind 2–0 on the subsequent man. “Hey, throw strikes!” Some smart man within the crowd will inevitably yell it. Clearly! The pitcher isn’t on the market attempting to overlook the strike zone. They simply can’t get a really feel for his or her pitches.
It’s certainly a depressing for that reliever. You realize you’re going to listen to it from the group. You realize your crew is pondering it, too. However by some means, you may’t execute. Possibly you slept poorly the night time earlier than, or acquired a foot cramp jogging out to the mound. No matter it’s, your command is gone, and the sport reveals no mercy.
The Brewers had one of many worst variations of this nightmare I’ve ever seen on Tuesday night time. The Rockies loaded the bases in opposition to Andrew Chafin with no person out due to a stroll and a bunt single. Then, the unhealthy occasions began:
Two walks in three batters, together with 4 straight balls with the bases loaded? Gross. It was time to go to the bullpen and let Chafin hit the showers. No huge deal, occurs to everybody from time to time. One run isn’t a catastrophe with the zombie runner in impact. Even two runs isn’t disqualifying. The reinforcements might hopefully decide Chafin up.
Solely, uh, Abner Uribe got here in and racked up a pitch timer violation earlier than throwing his first pitch. That’s not precisely the way you’d draw it up at residence. He adopted that up in a manner that you simply most likely predicted based mostly on the title of this merchandise:
Oof. Simply, oof. It’s merciless to convey a reliever into the sport with the bases loaded, and notably merciless to do it to somebody with Uribe’s questionable command. This recreation was getting out of hand shortly, and there have been nonetheless three outs to scrounge up. Certainly, Uribe might flip issues round in opposition to Ryan McMahon:
Whoops. Three runs residence on 12 pitches will not be the way you draw it up within the clubhouse. The Milwaukee crowd was shellshocked; a number of boos rained down, however principally there was simply surprised silence. Uribe recovered to throw a strike on the very subsequent pitch, to an enormous roar from the followers, however it was too late. Milwaukee misplaced, 7–3. Simply throw strikes, certainly.