There’s very little better than a Chicago Cubs homer party.
The love of your family. Peppermint chocolate chip milkshakes. Jake Arrieta no-hitters. That’s pretty much the list.
And today, the Cubs not only hosted a homer party at Wrigley Field in their win over the Dodgers, but their four homers were all notable for different reasons.
First, let’s watch the homers:
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[adinserter block=”1″]Baez’s homer, his third of the season, was his first since his walk-off bomb against the Nationals on Mother’s Day, and was a thing of beauty. It was a 105mph rocket that went 413 feet to the back of the bleachers. Better than that, Baez was sitting back on a not-really-all-that-bad changeup on the outer third from a lefty, and yanked it.
And did you notice? He did the Sammy Sosa hop again. In case you’d forgotten:
Javy Baez busts out the Sammy Sosa hop on his walk-off homer. pic.twitter.com/hITCFhO00n
— Brett Taylor (@BleacherNation) May 8, 2016
I very much hope that is here to stay.
Jason Heyward’s homer is up next, and, while it was not necessarily the most impressive blast of the day, it was sorely needed by a guy who has really struggled to elevate the ball with authority this season, and also has been beaten by that very pitch (a 92mph fastball at the very top of the zone) a good bit. That was just Heyward’s second homer of the year, and his first as a Cub at Wrigley Field.
Kris Bryant followed on the very next pitch with the Cubs’ second left field video board homer of the year (Jorge Soler’s last week was a touch longer), a blast that went out at 110 mph and travelled 436 feet. That made it the longest Cubs bomb on the day. It was Bryant’s second homer in as many days, and his 13th blast on the year. If he stays on this pace, Bryant would clear the 40 homer mark by the end of the year.[adinserter block=”2″]
And then there was Anthony Rizzo’s shot to center field, which just made it into the basket, but don’t forget: at Wrigley Field, that’s a high wall to clear, even with the help of the basket. It was a 405 foot blast, heading out at 105 mph. It was also Rizzo’s first homer since May 14, and only his second extra-base hit in that span. So, yeah, he needed that one.
It was a fun day at the ballpark, and thanks to Bryant’s blast, we also now have a new homer party GIF:
When it's a homer party … pic.twitter.com/icSA0Uds3d
— Brett Taylor (@BleacherNation) June 2, 2016