Fans Hate Cleveland's City Connect Jerseys, A Seattle Fan Caught TWO Foul Balls, And NY Honors...David Ortiz?
Week 3 of Touch ‘Em All is here!
Do you ever watch the baseball news cycle and just get utterly confused or shocked by something that happens? Like, how in the world did Shohei Ohtani convince the Los Angeles Dodgers that it would be a great idea to pay him $68 million a year - after he’s done playing for them?
Or how can Cincinnati Reds phenom Elly De La Cruz single-handedly have more stolen bases (30) at this point in the season than 18 teams? How can teams put such little priority on stealing bases, and how is De La Cruz that fast?
Similarly, all the stories in this week’s column have an element that will leave you scratching your head - sometimes pleasantly, sometimes not so much (especially if you’re a Yankees fan, you’ll see why in a minute). It’s been another incredible and wild week in baseball news.
Let’s dive in.
Fans Hate The Cleveland Guardians City Connect Uniforms For No Good Reason
On Monday, the Cleveland Guardians released their City Connect uniforms.
Now, if you’ve read any of my stuff at any point over the past couple of months (if so, a million thank yous for doing so), you’ll know that I’m something of a uniform enthusiast (to put it lightly). I absolutely love seeing the MLB get creative with this initiative and can’t get enough of the designs.
So, when Cleveland dropped their new threads, you can bet your bottom dollar I was hyped UP to see them.
And wow, did they deliver.
In addition to looking fantastic, the creators once again incorporated a ton of intricate details that, far and away, made this the best City Connect Design in the AL Central.
When they dropped, first baseman Josh Naylor said, "Can we wear them for every home game?...I’m actually asking." Frankly, if I played for Cleveland, I’d be asking that same question.
But for some inexplicable reason, lots of fans despised the design.
Please know that I’m asking this in the most respectful way possible:
Why does everyone hate art?
The homage to the city’s architecture on the shirt is elite. They made a borderline boring color scheme - red, white, and blue - and made it look immaculate. And the guardian statues on the socks? Legendary.
But for some reason unbeknownst to man, these people still think they’re a big swing and a miss.
All I can say is that when they wear them for the first time tonight against the Minnesota Twins, that will hopefully change their opinions.
If it doesn’t, then I’m out of ideas. They need some help.
A Seattle Mariners Fan Caught Back-To-Back Foul Balls
One of the best things that can happen to you at a baseball game is catching a foul ball. Sure, it’s nice if you propose to your girlfriend and have your engagement displayed on the jumbotron, or if your team wins.
But if you leave with a ball used in the actual game, that’s a feeling that nothing can replicate. Well, getting engaged is pretty awesome too, but you get the point.
Catching a foul ball is one of the best thrills a baseball fan can experience. (Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)
I’ve never caught a foul ball in my entire life, and I’ve been going to games (primarily at Fenway Park - go Red Sox) since I was 5. I’ve sat in left field, right field, along the first base line, behind home plate, the rafters above the third base line - pretty much everywhere you’d have a reasonable chance of getting a foul ball. But for 19 years, I’ve been skunked clean.
So imagine my surprise when I saw this one guy at a Seattle Mariners game last week. This fan was perched along the wall right by the corner of left field at T-Mobile Park.
Mariners third baseman Josh Rojas saw a 1-0 pitch and fouled it in his direction. This random dude ended up snagging it cleanly in impressive fashion.
That by itself isn’t overly surprising, fans leave with foul balls all the time (except me obviously). The crazy part is that he got a second one.
On the VERY. NEXT. PITCH.
Rojas again sliced a pitch into the corner. While he didn’t catch it cleanly, the fan still retrieved the stray ball and proudly displayed his haul to the crowd.
I don’t know what the chances of getting two in the same game are, never mind on consecutive pitches. They’re probably only slightly better than picking a perfect men’s March Madness bracket.
But seriously, congratulations to that fan. That’s a memory he’ll treasure for the rest of his life.
Now if only I could experience that same feeling…
The State Of New York Purposefully Chose To Honor David Ortiz, 20 Years After His Epic ALCS Against The Yankees
There are certain rules about baseball rivalries that you have to follow. One of those is that you promise to loathe the star players on your opponent’s roster.
As a Red Sox fan, I had no problem despising the likes of Andy Pettitie, Jorge Posada, Mark Teixeira, and pretty much any other star player for those loathsome New York Yankees (Mariano Rivera is the lone exception, he’s a class act and a heck of a ballplayer).
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
For Yankees fans, I can imagine that a guy on the top of their list was David Ortiz - the best clutch hitter in the history of the game (more on that in a minute).
So imagine the shock of New Yorkers everywhere when they learned on Monday that the state passed a resolution to honor - that’s right, honor - him.
State Sen. Luis Sepúlveda put forth the resolution, and said through a spokesperson that "he acknowledges the great philanthropic work of Ortiz and his foundation." And to be fair, "Big Papi" has done a lot of philanthropic work that has impacted many in the Empire State.
But still! This is the same guy that unleashed painful (or if you’re me, incredible) memories for New Yorkers.
Twenty years ago, the Yankees were up three games to none in the 2004 ALCS. With Game 4 in the 12th inning, Ortiz jacked a homerun over the right field wall to stave off elimination.
At the time, New York Yankees fans were probably like "Okay, so you steal one game. Big deal. We’ve got this series in the bag."
That is, until Ortiz came to bat the very next night, and hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 14th inning.
On consecutive nights, this man dealt knockout blows to the morale of the Yankees, who would blow the series and become the first MLB team to squander a 3-0 lead in a 7-game series.
Ortiz was the catalyst for some of the worst memories for Yankees fans, including OutKick’s Mike Gunzlemann. And the entire state of New York wants to give this guy special recognition?
I’m still trying to wrap my head around that one.
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That’s it for this week! Remember, anytime you see something crazy in the MLB or minor leagues, feel free to send it to me at john.simmons@outkick.com and it could be in the next column. Until next time!