April 23, 2021
1. Jake Cronenworth turns the double play of the year
Game 4 of the “Is it a rivalry or not?” series, Padres at Dodgers. And it was just as electric as the first three — bases loaded, eighth inning, one-run game, and the whole thing decided by a double play turned to perfection by Cronenworth and Tatis Jr., 4-6-3:
2. There was a giant rabbit at the Giants game
These “comfort animals” are getting a little out of hand, but — seeing a rabbit on TV at a baseball game will never merit a complaint from this Newsletter:
3. We have a new catch of the year — this broadcaster at an NCAA game
Move over, Mookie, Arozarena, McKinney. This is the greatest catch of the 2021 baseball season:
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5. Patrick Renna from The Sandlot did a reenactment — this is great
Also — not sure exactly why, but he just did a podcast with Kris Bryant, for Red Bull (??), talking about parenting and changing diapers:
6. The Cubs swept the Mets, with a Jason Heyward walk-off single
They’re back up to 9–9 on the year, after an awful start offensively, the first two weeks. Still unclear if the Cubs of old are back, but, perhaps they’re quasi-back. Semi-back. In the unknown limbo space between back and… forth?
7. Matt Carpenter is batting .081
It’s early, yes. But we’re almost into May. And he’s making the 2020 Houston Astros roster look like a bunch of Hank Aarons (they were, if you missed it, joyously terrible last season).
But it’s odd, with Carpenter, he’s one of the last guys you’d pick for a slump like this. A hitting maestro, almost savant-like at times, just reliably hitting the baseball, for almost a decade now.
Cardinals fans are “straight up not having a good time”:
8. Mookie Betts was in a new Call of Duty video game ad
He’s got nothing on teammate Cody Bellinger though, who made an actual appearance in one of the Assassin’s Creed games, as “Otta Sluggasson”:
9. It’s been a rough week for fans catching home runs
There was the Zack Hample fall earlier in the week, then yesterday, the dad in Cincinnati — brutal. Watch for the hug at the end though:
And then at Wrigley, with the tarps that immediately looked like an awful safety hazard, the second this kid fell. Bouncing down like it was a trampoline, almost into the basket above the ivy:
Edit — the original tweet got removed by Marquee Network (probably to save face from posting a rough fall), but you can see it here in the video I put up. The second one in the sequence:
10. Todd Frazier is back in baseball
New Jersey’s own Todd Frazier, every broadcast seems almost contractually obligated to say, is back in the majors— now with the Pirates. Apparently he signed a minor-league deal over the winter, then opted out, then re-signed as a free agent (also with the Pirates), and they called him up for a debut yesterday, going 0–4 after one game.
11. Al Leiter’s son is now the king of the MLB prospect lists
If you don’t know who Al Leiter is, well, you know — Al Leiter. MLB Network. 2x All-Star. Blue Jays, Marlins, Mets. Won Game 7 of the 1997 World Series.
Soon so be overshadowed by his son Jack, who’s dominating at Vanderbilt this year.
12. Corbin Burnes (Brewers) is pitching absurdly well
Unsung 26-year-old pitcher so far, coming off a very good shortened 2020 season, and he’s up there with deGrom as the early early Cy Young leader so far. Zero walks so far, and only eight hits. 0.37 ERA.
Where he’s going, he needs no numbers. Just symbols:
13. Today’s must-watch: Joe West taking a trot
I put the Bill Burr Goodfellas commentary in there just because it was a bit too perfect. Joe West running is a masterpiece.
14. And Nick Pivetta, on the other hand, had himself a strut
A sure strike three, and the stride, the strut, the swagger. And then — nope. Come back. Do it all over again.
PS — he’s having a very good year so far for the Red Sox:
15. Lastly, the Padres have a prospect named Henry Henry
It’s like Bruce Bruce. William (Carlos) Williams. Kris Kristofferson. Sirhan Sirhan, if we want to go a bit dark with it.
Henry, then Henry again. Henry Henry:
If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, send me a DM on Twitter! I’ll be doing them all year, to package the best highlights and stories from around the league — and to make baseball easier and quicker to follow.
Twitter: @bbletter
