The WBC Does Homers Right: Distance, Drama, Celebration … Javy Baez
The World Baseball Classic is continuing on in the background and teams are advancing every day.
So far, Israel, the Netherlands, Japan, and Cuba have advanced to the next round, while teams like Puerto Rico, Italy, the Dominican Republic, and the United States still need to win another game to secure a spot in the next pool.
But you didn’t come here for a WBC update … you came here to see some homers. And boy do we have some real dingers for you.
Manny Machado, for example, put team Dominican Republic on the board with an absolute moon shot against team USA:
According to StatCast, that homer left the bat at 109.4 MPH and traveled 435 feet into the night. It was crushed, plain and simple. But hey, you’ve seen moon shots before, and the score was just 5-0.
Let’s catch something with a little more drama.
Like Nelson Cruz’s lead taking three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning against the United States:
That was actually a pretty important turn of events there, considering the D.R. wound up hanging onto the lead Cruz built with that swing and took over first place of Pool C before the night was over.
The U.S. is against the ropes now.
Also, how similar is that homer to Rajai Davis’ (also) eighth inning blast from Game 7 of the World Series. As a Cubs fan, I know it worked out, but I’m having some terrifying flashbacks (and hey! It’s Andrew Miller on the mound!).
And then there’s Wladmir Balentien’s game-tying, two-run homer and ensuing emotions in yesterday’s contest between the Netherlands and Japan:
The chest pounding, the backwards walk, the finger pointing … I absolutely love it.
That was a huge home run at a critical point of the game and he was totally justified in celebrating (says the baseball blog with the Twitter handle @flippingbats).
And finally, how about a little bonus Javy Baez action out of Puerto Rico. When this dude hits a home run … well, let’s just say you know it right away:
There was no doubt about it on this swing by @javy23baez! #WBC2017 pic.twitter.com/kfYfE1aoZx
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 12, 2017
And hey, you don’t have to flip your bat if you love it this much:
Be good to your equipment. #Javy pic.twitter.com/f1VwSWhtjq
— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) March 12, 2017
For more WBC fun, click that WBC tag right below.
