Jeff Samardzija's bat-snap showed us that yes, even pitchers get mad at strikeouts
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Jeff Samardzija threw a dazzling game on Tuesday, sailing through eight frames in the Giants' win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park. And yet, despite Shark's dominating evening, he was quite disappointed to strike out in the top of the eighth with two runners in scoring position:
Obviously, Samardzija would have preferred to help his own cause and drive in some more runs, but that didn't happen -- and his bat suffered as a result.
Snapping bats over legs is something players do on a semi-regular basis -- see Carlos Gomez's destruction last week and Chris Davis' from Tuesday for visual proof:
However, Samardzija is a pitcher. They're not normally the type to go out and do that … but, then again, Samardzija isn't an ordinary pitcher. After all, he was an accomplished college football wide receiver.
When asked by MLB.com's Chris Haft after the game about his bat-snap, Shark replied, "It is what it is. It's stupid."
So was it planned out?
"No premeditation for anything, man. Go with what you feel."
Samardzija, whom manager Bruce Bochy compared to Herman Munster when speaking with Haft, added that he had done this sort of thing, "A couple of times."
Considering how easy he made it look, that's not hard to believe.