Loved this one. Your best column of all time. Except the Katie the Prefect one. Or maybe the one explaining why Willie Mays isn’t a hall of famer. Or maybe the Hamilton one. Oh wait, the Satchel/Buck Nancy story. Damn, Joe. Just publish an anthology of your best columns already.
I missed this post the first time and I didn't see this game live. I've obviously seen the bat flip but never seen the whole inning so I went and watched it. Holy cow.
Has anyone checked on Elvis Andrus? Is he okay? I still sometimes have nightmares about errors I made in front of 12 fans.
Also, I think that slide at home is a double play in today's rule. And I saw a couple of pitches called balls that might have been called strikes after a challenge.
I remember feeling line that was the most epic bat flip of all time. I went back and re-watched the whole 7th inning, and with all the emotion of the moment, it felt epic.
But I think Kyle Tucker threw a bat like that in the NLDS this year. 🤷♂️
There is a video of Beltre's best highlights (actually, there are many of them). None are thirty minutes, but 7.5 is pretty great. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIY6_JlxClA
There is a video of Beltre hating his head being touched. Set to MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This." It is delightful. Not 20 minutes. But 2.3 is pretty great. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m52Tzwd3QoQ
Finally, to show how much things have changed in 11 years, (less, actually), Beltre had no trouble whatsoever getting into the Hall of Fame. He was named on 95.1% of ballots: same as Honus Wagner and Babe Ruth; more than Rickey Henderson or Willie Mays or Ted Williams or Stan Musial or... just about ANYONE. It's tied for 18th overall among BBWAA-elected players. That didn't look likely in 2015.
I think 3000 hits ended the argument. He won everyone over.
Impossible to believe it wasn't unanimous, but what are you gonna do? (Answer: take away the ballot from people who refuse to follow the instructions.)
Mike has written many funny things. I have laughed at so much that he's put in ink, digital or literal. But nothing beats, "Kevin Pillar sounds like the name Kevin Millar gave to the cops when they caught him drinking a beer at a house party when he was 17. 'I’m Kevin … Pillar.'” That was the line I remembered from the first time this was posted.
The best thing about this column is that I was going to say exactly the same thing…but about the line “Act like you’ve been there before, Neil,” he said to himself, quietly, as he slowly descended onto the surface of an alien planet.
Bautista's was the greatest ever on the Epic scale.
Tom Lawless's is still the funniest. Strutting and Pimping like he's Reggie Jackson, somehow forgetting he hit 0.080 that year and it was his second ML homer. Extra funny that it barely cleared the wall.
Loved this one. Your best column of all time. Except the Katie the Prefect one. Or maybe the one explaining why Willie Mays isn’t a hall of famer. Or maybe the Hamilton one. Oh wait, the Satchel/Buck Nancy story. Damn, Joe. Just publish an anthology of your best columns already.
Well, since all the "bat flip" links just go to the mlb.com main page, here's a link
to the bat flip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UdsVO7HaJg
I missed this post the first time and I didn't see this game live. I've obviously seen the bat flip but never seen the whole inning so I went and watched it. Holy cow.
Has anyone checked on Elvis Andrus? Is he okay? I still sometimes have nightmares about errors I made in front of 12 fans.
Also, I think that slide at home is a double play in today's rule. And I saw a couple of pitches called balls that might have been called strikes after a challenge.
Great post. Thanks for revisiting a great moment.
Calling THAT game the Bat Flip game is like calling Star Wars "the movie with the glow stick."
We need a JoeBlogs list of "Coolest Athlete Moments," as in, has anyone ever been cooler than Jose Bautista with the Bat Flip?
The Baseball 100 Moments
Or something
I rewatched the 7th inning this morning. This was a perfect companion to that.
I remember feeling line that was the most epic bat flip of all time. I went back and re-watched the whole 7th inning, and with all the emotion of the moment, it felt epic.
But I think Kyle Tucker threw a bat like that in the NLDS this year. 🤷♂️
Time to fact-check the Adrian Beltre comments.
There is a video of Beltre's best highlights (actually, there are many of them). None are thirty minutes, but 7.5 is pretty great. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIY6_JlxClA
There is a video of Beltre hating his head being touched. Set to MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This." It is delightful. Not 20 minutes. But 2.3 is pretty great. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m52Tzwd3QoQ
Finally, to show how much things have changed in 11 years, (less, actually), Beltre had no trouble whatsoever getting into the Hall of Fame. He was named on 95.1% of ballots: same as Honus Wagner and Babe Ruth; more than Rickey Henderson or Willie Mays or Ted Williams or Stan Musial or... just about ANYONE. It's tied for 18th overall among BBWAA-elected players. That didn't look likely in 2015.
I think 3000 hits ended the argument. He won everyone over.
Impossible to believe it wasn't unanimous, but what are you gonna do? (Answer: take away the ballot from people who refuse to follow the instructions.)
Mike has written many funny things. I have laughed at so much that he's put in ink, digital or literal. But nothing beats, "Kevin Pillar sounds like the name Kevin Millar gave to the cops when they caught him drinking a beer at a house party when he was 17. 'I’m Kevin … Pillar.'” That was the line I remembered from the first time this was posted.
The best thing about this column is that I was going to say exactly the same thing…but about the line “Act like you’ve been there before, Neil,” he said to himself, quietly, as he slowly descended onto the surface of an alien planet.
I need a top ten bat flips countdown. Personally, I'm a huge fan of the Tom Lawless flip in '87.
Lawless was an all-timer.
Bautista's was the greatest ever on the Epic scale.
Tom Lawless's is still the funniest. Strutting and Pimping like he's Reggie Jackson, somehow forgetting he hit 0.080 that year and it was his second ML homer. Extra funny that it barely cleared the wall.
The funniest part of this post is you saying the Bat Flip game was 11 years ago. We all know it was like four years ago.
[checks]
Wait a minute ...