I haven’t seen this become a big deal on the interwebs yet, and that’s the way it should stay.
But let’s break down what happened on Monday: the Chicago White Sox were in the middle of demolishing the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning, up 15-4. The Twins had brought in position player Willians Astudillo to pitch, and you’ll recall he did the same earlier this season and threw a 46 MPH pitch for a strike.
White Sox DH Yermin Mercedes had a 3-0 count and saw a 47 MPH ball heading his way. So he did what any hitter would and should do to the pitch, even in a blowout: he hit a home run:
Twins broadcast seething LOL pic.twitter.com/G7asPXDaRC
— ⚫️𝗪𝗦𝗫𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧⚪️ (@wsxmatt) May 18, 2021
You can her the Twins’ broadcast expressing some unhappiness there, to which I say: there should be zero problem here. Home runs are awesome, even on 3-0, even against a position player pitching, even against one who throws pitches 47 MPH.
For one thing, Mercedes hasn’t gone yard since April 29. Maybe this is a confidence-builder for future games! For another, baseball is a game. Let’s have some fun here!
Oh man 😂
Yermin, why'd you have to do La Tortuga like that!
(via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/d3KpEJQs4t
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 18, 2021
3-0 bomb from Yermin Mercedes off of a position player!
Announcer: “I don’t like it. Up 15-4. I don’t like it”
Guess who does like it? Yermin. Yermin’s wallet. Yermin’s family who gets food put on their table by him. Fans of the Sox. Fans of baseball. pic.twitter.com/01zXiIE6dH
— Ben Verlander (@Verly32) May 18, 2021
Just heard the Twins broadcasters ask, “is it ok to swing 3-0 vs a position player throwing 47 in a blowout?” Hell yes! Fix that pen. Stop wondering if Yermin did something wrong. You didn’t YM! pic.twitter.com/OKQAq8IMts
— Chris Rose (@ChrisRose) May 18, 2021
This is fantastic!! No problems here whatsoever.
