Noted in Passing: Baseball can still surprise and amuse

by Vanderleun on May 28, 2021

Comments on this entry are closed.

Richard May 28, 2021, 8:14 AM

Funny how the brain works, init? Something that should’ve been pure muscle memory – just touch the bag and the runner is out – is canceled out by the unexpected. Guessing the 1st baseman will be hearing about that for a long time. Tangentially: It appears in the video to be a gorgeous late Spring day—what’s with all the empty seats? And. finally, are the Boys of Summer still taking a knee?

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Casey Klahn May 28, 2021, 11:02 AM

Baseball can have some moments. I think the old time inventors of the game had “game” in mind.

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The Universal Spectator May 28, 2021, 12:53 PM

I wish I were still following my Cubs. But I will not go back to it until they repudiate all this left-wing crap. Which will probably be never.

I miss baseball terribly…

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Gordon Scott May 28, 2021, 1:05 PM

Lifetime blog subscription to the person who comes up with the baseball scoring notation for that play.

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Cris May 28, 2021, 2:08 PM

Gordon: E3

Good explanation here: https://baseballrulesacademy.com/javier-baez-confuses-pirates-when-he-runs-from-1b-to-home/

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PA Cat May 28, 2021, 2:33 PM

Just for Olive: Last month’s feline invasion of a Dodgers-Rockies game. Rumor has it that the cat has a crush on Cody Bellinger:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ6ADOs9cIQ&ab_channel=MLBMLBVerified

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julie May 28, 2021, 2:57 PM

That’s hilarious. You expect that sort of thing in Little League, but not the Majors.

My husband keeps score for our boy’s team. First game, he had to figure out how you score the play where the batter gets a third strike, but the catcher drops the ball and if there’s nobody on first the batter can still make a run for the base. He has used it in almost every game since, at least once.

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gwbnyc May 28, 2021, 5:20 PM

no mas

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Vanderleun May 28, 2021, 6:06 PM

Olive loved it and raises you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH5bDPlswvA

And

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PA Cat May 28, 2021, 6:56 PM

Hope Olive likes this one too: A black cat (maybe one of Olive’s very distant relatives) gives the humans a workout during a baseball game in South Korea. It must be an Energizer cat because it just keeps running and running:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dqFBII5gA0&ab_channel=AnimalTales

Yeah, it’s a good thing that baseball can still come up with funny moments. Now if only cats could be taught to pitch and catch as well as run bases . . .

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Annie Rose May 29, 2021, 5:41 AM

For the rest of you who live in the semi-normal part of what’s left of America, you probably aren’t aware that our illustrious Illinois Governor, Fred Flinstone, has us still in double secret lockdown. That means that Wrigley Field-it will always be called that by true fans-is only allowed to be at 25% capacity, thus there are lots of empty seats. But not to worry. If we are good little boys and girls and all get our covid jab, Fred and Sheriff Lori say we may be allowed to have increased capacity at restaurants and businesses. We MAY be allowed to gather with family and friends in our backyards for a July 4th BBQ. If Cinderella, if. Of course, the lake front Lollapalooza multi-day music festival with elbow to elbow multistage events has already been approved for summer, because covid knows not to go there. It’s evidently a covid free safe zone. The local grocery chain just last week is letting fully vaxxed employees and customers go unmasked. Scouts’ honor system. Woot woot! I guess I identify as vaxxed. This is what Chicago voters have done to our state. Illinoisans put up with it, tolerate it, and proudly embrace their enslavement. We must like pain, because the majority keep voting the same idiots into office.

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leelu May 29, 2021, 7:18 AM

A thing of beauty.
My favorite part is the guy in front of the dugout who can’t stand up because he’s laughing so hard. These moments of hilarious insanity is what baseball is all about.

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Rob De Witt May 29, 2021, 7:18 AM

Wrigley Field-it will always be called that by true fans-

What else would you call it?

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Scott May 30, 2021, 3:54 AM

“Javier Baez, your favorite player’s favorite player”

I wish I could take credit for coining that truism: https://obviousshirts.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/favorite-player

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Annie Rose May 30, 2021, 6:37 AM

The powers that be keep trying to sell naming rights to iconic Chicago landmarks. Wrigley Park is still Wrigley-for now. Comiskey Park was Cellular One and is now Guarantee Trust. Marshall Fields is now a Macy’s. Sears Tower became Willis Tower. The Chicago Tribune has been sold to some New Yorker, who is firing local talent as fast as he can and replacing them with AP story bylines and people who know nothing about Chicago. Chicagoans put up with it. That is why there were so few of us that had a chance to see such an amazing play in person.

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Jeff Brokaw June 1, 2021, 12:40 PM

4D chess by Baez and smart play by Contreras too. I’ve never seen anything like it and I have watched a LOT of baseball since 1968.

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