I owe an apology to Eugenio Suárez for being oblivious as he's mashed his way into the home run race
I like to admit when I'm wrong and learn from my mistakes.
For most of the summer, we've all stared in awe at the NL home run race, which has featured key players in the otherworldly Mike Trout of the Angels, the Mets' emotional leader and shirtless rookie Pete Alonso, reigning MVP and male model Christian Yelich of the Brewers and Dodgers phenomenon/potential future legend Cody Bellinger.
But down in Ohio, a storm has been brewing. One slugger has been calmly swatting bombs in the shadows of the headline-grabbing names above, picking up some serious ground in the home run race while you haven't been paying attention. He has firmly placed himself as a legitimate threat, and it's time we were all made aware.
I'm talking about Eugenio Suárez of the Reds, who hit his 43rd and 44th dingers of the season on Sunday. In the third inning, he annihilated a pitch to center field with a swing that looked like you or I waving a toothpick in the air.
Don't look now, but Eugenio Suárez is in the thick of the HR race. 👀 pic.twitter.com/HRNJTsBsOP
— MLB (@MLB) September 8, 2019
The second, in the eighth inning, tied the score in a game the Reds eventually won over the D-backs. This one, too, was not a cheapie:
💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) September 8, 2019
For those counting at home, that's 44 Geno bombs!#BornToBaseball pic.twitter.com/ME7qjcD9OZ
44 home runs for Suárez , who is now tied with Yelich and Bellinger and just one behind Alonso and Trout on the overall leaderboards.
Now, I watch baseball every day. I watch certain teams (the A's and Dodgers) more than others, admittedly, but I definitely spread out my time watching as many other teams as possible, within reason.
And yet, I had absolutely no idea Suárez was doing this, even after watching him ambush the A's with a homer back in May. I just assumed it was another homer, but not a sign of what was to come. You probably didn't know this was coming, either. This tweet from the Reds speaks to me and my ignorance of the whole situation. I'M SORRY, atReds. Really, I am.
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— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) September 8, 2019
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┻┳| •.•) psssst, Eugenio Suárez is
┳┻|⊂ﾉ one home run off the
┻┳| Major League lead pic.twitter.com/xWPnpPaMpp
What Suárez is doing is a big deal not only for Reds fans, who must be pretty happy to see one of their guys making headlines like this, but it's also great for Suárez himself. Prior to this season, he set a personal goal of hitting 40 homers, and by virtue of hitting that mark he became the sixth Venezuelan-born player to do so.
He's also setting his sights on 47, which would tie his mother's favorite player and Venezuelan legend, Andres Galarraga, who hit 47 in 1996.
After Sunday's heroics, Suárez is just three shy of tying Galarraga's total and making his dream season even more magical. Might outslugging Trout, Alonso, Yelich, Bellinger and the rest of this season's home run machines be part of that magic ride?
We'll see in a few weeks -- but at this point, don't count Eugenio Suárez out. He demands all of our attention, and it's high time we give it to him.
Adrian Garro joined MLB.com in 2016. Throughout his travels, both Bartolo Colon and Vin Scully have placed their hands on his shoulders. Not at the same time, though. That'd be amazing.
