This week in baseball

July 21st, 2021

There's a lot of baseball every day. It's part of what makes the sport so great. But we get it, you can't possibly keep up with everything that happens in a week. That's where we come in. Here's a quick refresher on the five most fun moments you may have missed.

1. History is made

It's shocking that it took this long. On Wednesday night, as the Orioles played the Rays in the YouTube Game of the Week, it was the first time that a game was hosted by an all-woman crew.

Melanie Newman, Alanna Rizzo, Sarah Langs, Heidi Watney and Lauren Gardner teamed up to present the historic broadcast -- inspiring countless fans along the way.

What took so long? And what impact could it have? Let Langs explain during her appearance on CNN:

Anthony Santander certainly got it:

2. Liam Castellanos deserves a gallery show

Forget the fancy suits and designer duds that sported the All-Star Game red carpet last week, because it was Nick Castellanos' T-shirt that stole the show. That's because his son, Liam, designed it. He really captured his dad's likeness along the way.

That's not the end of the story. Liam's shirt has gone into production with the proceeds going to a charity of his choice.

When the youngster saw his tees hanging in the Reds team store -- well, we'll let his reaction do the explaining:

3. The other Max Muncy

You may know Max Muncy -- at least, the Dodgers' homer-hitting, trash-talking, walk-taking first baseman. But did you know there's another Max Muncy, one who was just drafted by the Athletics? And did you know that this Muncy shares a birthday with the current big leaguer? Or that the Dodgers' Muncy was originally drafted by the A's, too?

Yeah, this is the surest sign that we're living in a computer simulation and the code is on the fritz. At least the younger Muncy already feels bad for his doppelganger-in-name:

4. The Mets get wild

If the weekend's baseball action taught us anything, it's that you should never turn off a Mets game. On Saturday, the Mets held a 6-0 lead against the Pirates going into the bottom of the eighth. It was 7-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth, and it seemed almost impossible for the Mets to lose. At least, that's what the win probability chart said:

Instead, Jacob Stallings came to bat with the bases loaded and two outs. All he did was deposit the ball just over the wall in left field:

The next day, the Mets fell behind 6-0, including this play that you'll likely never see again:

Naturally, that wasn't the end of the game, though. The Mets rallied back and thanks to a Michael Conforto home run in the top of the ninth, emerged victorious.

The Mets weren't done with the cardiac act just yet. Facing the Reds on Monday, the teams traded leads back and forth. New York took the lead in the top of the eighth, only for Cincinnati to tie it in the bottom of the ninth and force extras.

The Mets scored a run in the top of the 10th and the Reds again tied it up. It took a five-run burst in the top of the 11th before the Mets -- and the seven homers they hit along the way -- finally got the W.

The moral of the story: Never turn off a Mets game.

5. Fernando Tatis Jr. has a new best friend

You may remember the most aww-inducing story from the All-Star break as Charlie Freeman -- the son of Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman -- finally got to meet his idol, Tatis. Well, with the Braves and Padres playing a series this week, Charlie got to see his friend again.

Even better, Tatis seems pretty excited to see Charlie, too:

Even better, Charlie got his first signed jersey, too. Guess we know who will be best man at Charlie's wedding in about 20 years.

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Michael Clair writes for MLB.com. He spends a lot of time thinking about walk-up music and believes stirrup socks are an integral part of every formal outfit.