These were 10 moments from April, 2016 that reminded us why baseball is the greatest
When the calendar flipped over to April, it meant only one deliriously perfect thing: The return of baseball. Which meant that our TV screens and computer monitors would once again be filled with the unbelievably wonderful, the believably superb and the terrifically weird. Here were our 10 favorite moments from the month that was.
All stats through end of April.
Triple plays tend to be underwhelming. While the idea of them is perfect -- three outs on one play, wow! -- they're usually the result of bad baserunning or just a perfectly mishit ground ball. Rarely are they result of truly phenomenal defensive work.
But the White Sox showed off some obscene glovework when they turned the first 9-3-2-6-2-5 triple play in MLB history. Even better, it came with the bases loaded and it prevented any runs from scoring.
There was even some wacky baserunning to make it all the more wild, with Price Fielder staying put at third and a "You've Been Served" style dance-off at first base.
While the White Sox's triple play was strange, you could at least understand how it came to be. Braves reliever
We already knew that Puig is not made of flesh and bone, but rather an assembled collection of highlight reels brought to life. In April though, he may have revealed that there are deeper wells to his power than we could have ever guessed at. When
Using the kind of thrust that you only see during space shuttle missions, Puig uncorked a cool 310-foot toss at 93.5 mph to get Story without a hop. Judging by the height of the throw, it also likely skimmed the upper limits of Earth's atmosphere.
Jon Miller is one of baseball's greatest broadcasters (and, when he gets the chance, one of the very best at doing impressions, too). But even he makes the occasional mistake. When Pence hit a grand slam against the Dodgers, Miller called it for Posey. Showing off the improv talents shared by every superb play-by-play announcer, Miller quickly pivoted, calling it a "Grand slam for
Just like the Slinky or penicillin, this mistake proved almost better than a "real" call. Pence adopted the moniker in his Twitter profile and for Miller pulled it out one more time. The T-shirts and mugs can't be far behind.
When Ortiz retires at the end of the year, there will likely be flash flood warnings in the greater Boston area as tears will fill the streets. He's not making it any easier on Red Sox fans by finishing his career with a whimper either. As the month draws to a close, the slugging DH is hitting .321/.418/.654 with five home runs. That's enough to put him in conversation for the best final season for a batter in big league history!
It started with a narrative-rich home run on Opening Day. Because when you're a human legend like Big Papi, of course you're going to start your season in storybook fashion.
He even managed to show off those 40-year-old wheels and steal a base:
Before the season began, I had the same nightmares as everyone else: Ghosts. Forgetting to bring my notes to the podium for a big speech. Having your phone autocorrect your "What do you want for dinnerr?" text to "I want a divorce."
But I have a new one this year: Syndergaard's 93-mph slider. While Thor was already an intimidating force on the mound last season, with his long hair whipping in the wind and his fastball boring in on the hands, this year he's unveiled a pitch that physics says just shouldn't be possible. A starting pitcher, who needs to pace himself so he can get through more than two innings in a game, throwing a slider that's faster than the league average heater? That simply can't be.
While the Kershaws and Arrietas of the world may have led the Cy Young predictions before the season, Syndergaard was a fine down ballot choice. Given his 1.69 ERA and 12.83 K/9 in April, those predictions may just prove accurate (though we'll get to Arrieta in a little bit). And while Syndergaard struggled on Sunday, giving up four runs in 5 2/3 innings, that happened in May and so we're going to disregard it.
Even with the domination, it's nice to see that Syndergaard isn't sleeping on his other role as protector of all human kind, either.
Thor on the street @Noahsyndergaard pic.twitter.com/yNLbIGElmL
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 27, 2016
When Harper was first on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a 16-year-old, the magazine hailing him as "the chosen one," we scoffed. No matter how good he was then, that had to be hyperbole -- perhaps even dangerously so given how phenoms who are a decade away from being able to rent a car without penalty.
Last year, Harper seemed to make good on that prediction, as he fulfilled his destiny and won the NL MVP behind a .330/.460/.649 batting line and 42 home runs.
This year, somehow, he may be even better. He's hit nine home runs and driven in 24 runs. His slugging percentage is higher than 74 qualified players' OPSes.
He's even embracing his role as the target of opposition boos like no one else. When he stepped to the plate on Opening Day, the Braves' fans booing ringing in his ears, he hit a home run in his first at-bat.
When it was time to hit his 100th home run, he hit a grand slam.
When he was in Philadelphia, he hit a ball directly into the bathroom. Because that's hilarious and he can do no wrong at the plate.
At this point, you stay in your seat when Harper is five batters away because you don't want to risk the possibility that you'll miss his at-bat. And that is something very special indeed.
Everyone came together at the start of the year, looked at the Cubs' roster, nodded and said, "Yep, that's terrifying." So far, the team has lived up to that billing, with so much depth that even the loss of
Meanwhile, while Arrieta's 1.00 ERA is sparkling,
Even if his throws to first are ... unique, to say the least.
What's a little more shocking is how their South Side neighbors are doing. While we told you that this was a team worth falling in love with, even we weren't expecting them to become the best team in the American League. Instead, the rotation has nearly matched the Cubs': Ace
Plus,
You didn't think we were giving short shrift to Arrieta above, did you? That would be absurd. Coming off his National League Cy Young Award campaign last year, the right-hander decimated batters to start 2016. It's almost like 2015 never ended. In five starts, Arrieta pitched 36 innings, striking out 32 and giving up only 18 hits. It makes sense that he would then throw his second career no-hitter, only nine starts after last year's start against the Dodgers.
Arrieta hasn't just shown on the mound. This year he has a .747 OPS, which would have ranked him between Buster Posey and
Sorry, not sorry for the Trevor Story pun. Because if anyone has deserved to be turned into a pun machine this year, it's the Rockies new rookie shortstop. Installed as the team's first Opening Day shortstop not named
In his big league debut, he hit two home runs. The next night, another one. The game after? Another one. The next game?! Two more. After taking one game off without going deep, Story came back with another. In his first big league week, Story had seven home runs in only six games, something no other Major Leaguer had ever done.
In fact, Story went one better, topping not just every rookie ever but every player in home runs through six games,a list that was previously led by the likes of Willie Mays, Larry Walker and Mike Schmidt.
The end of April looked more like a typical rookie adjustment period for Story, but he still finished with 10 homers tying him with
Now that April has set the scene and established the cast, it's time to enter the real meat of the season. So strap in, because May is going to be just as wild.
