Edwin Encarnacion huffed and puffed his way to his second career inside-the-park homer
Most of Encarnacion's dingers are high, majestic shots -- absolute no-doubters. That was not the case on Monday. Encarnacion crushed a ball deep down the left-field line.
It took an effort to get around the bases, as Encarnacion was already feeling the burn by the time he rounded second:
There wasn't even time to show off his customary parrot! When Encarnacion crossed home plate, he could only share an exhausted laugh and high-five with teammate
It was the first inside-the-park homer for Encarnacion since Aug. 31, 2007, when he was a third baseman with the Reds. Of course, back then, he was a young buck at 24 years old:
That guy? Yeah, he could probably do the trip around the bases without too much of a problem.
Although he's a professional athlete and probably faster than everyone you and I know, the 35-year-old version of Encarnacion is not as spry as he was 11 years ago. In 2017, he ranked 420th out of 465 players in baseball in sprint speed, according to Statcast. The two names around him were catchers
Take a deep breath, Edwin. You've earned it.