April 9, 2021

1. The end of the Mets game was completely insane

Down by a run in the ninth, and then it was Jeff McNeil, on his birthday — with the best bat flip in the league so far this year. Tie game:

And then, the bases were loaded. Francisco Lindor drawing a walk, hyping up the slumping Michael Conforto behind him in the on-deck circle.

A sort of: “You got this!” exhortation. “Do whatever it takes! Use an elbow if that’s what it takes! Get this win!”

And then, on cue, Conforto heeded the call — and brought the Mets home a win. Easily one of the weirdest walk-offs we’ll ever see:

2. Mike Trout hit the elementary school in Dunedin, FL

A great, great first-ever MLB game at the Blue Jays’ spring training park in Dunedin, FL — with the Angels winning in the 11th inning.

And the highlight of the game being something you’ve talked about before it even started, as if conjuring it up into existence: a deep Mike Trout home run onto the elementary school grounds over the left-field fence.

3. Yermin Mercedes hit a 485-foot HR in the White Sox home opener

First inning. In the rain. Back to back homers, with Moncada going yard a moment before. The third-deepest in the history of that ballpark. Unbelievable.

And this from the guy who started his MLB career last week by going 8-for-8. Who’s leading the whole league, still, in batting average (.556), sixth in slugging (.889) — and may never have gotten a chance had Eloy Jimenez not gone onto the IL.

4. In the same game, Lance Lynn threw a complete game shutout

After two starts with his new team, he’s thrown 13.2 innings. Zero earned runs. Two walks. Seventeen strikeouts.

5. The Dodgers just got their 2020 World Series rings

The first time they’ll play in front of home fans since they won it last fall. And it just feels… right, to see Clayton Kershaw with a ring, at last:

6. Back to the Mets — Jesus Aguilar seems to have pickpocketed Dom Smith

Either Dom Smith got his cheat sheet stolen, or he scribbled “Jesus Aguilar stinks!” on a piece of paper in his back pocket, and Aguilar just got got:

7. “Mea Kulpa” — More from that insane ending of the Mets game

So the umpire’s name is Kulpa. You can’t write this stuff:

8. Kenta Maeda gave reporters masks with his own artwork on them

A lot of players give the media stick these days — Maeda has gone completely the other direction, very cool:

9. Nolan Arenado has his first great Cardinals moment

The Cards’ home opener in St. Louis, and who better to welcome fans back to Busch Stadium?

10. Day one of the Masters, and Javy Baez went golfing

Look at that picture. That was a home run. Tied for the sixth-lowest HR pitch in the Statcast era (since 2008) — 0.86 feet above the ground.

11. Speaking of the Cubs game, Craig Kimbrel might be back

Seven-time All Star. Completely fallen off since 2018. But a week into the season he’s already racked up 0.4 WAR, no earned runs given up.

Looking strong, for the first time a long while:

12. Oof of the day — Jonathan Davis picked off on first

Bottom of the ninth, tie game, pinch-runner. And a moment after leaving the dugout, doing the exact opposite of what he should do:

13. A’s reliever Trevor Rosenthal is having a rib removed

So far this season, we’ve seen “full body cramping” (Jon Gray), shoulder “subluxation” (Fernando Tatis Jr.), and now — the removal of a rib:

14. Catch of the day: Dylan Carlson

What a way to end an inning — bases loaded, home opener, first inning, and a sprinting, Jim-Edmonds-esque catch at the wall:

And then, two innings later, you get this from the very same guy:

15. Stat of the day: the Yankees rotation

The Yankees are 3–3, underachieving on offense, but after a week they’ve got the best pitching in the league. 1.74 team ERA:

16. Injury update: James Paxton might be out for the year

Still unofficial, but reports are saying he’ll be getting Tommy John surgery. Tough, tough blow for the Mariners:

17. Frozen in time — check out the Orioles whiteboard

It’s stuff like this that makes baseball endlessly great. Does it matter? No. Is it really that interesting? Not exactly. But I’ll take a whiteboard untouched for 564 straight days any day of the week.

July 22, 2019 — that’s the last time this was changed:

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. I’ll likely start an email list soon, or a Patreon, and would appreciate any and all feedback and support 🙏

Twitter: @bbletter