With the Cubs trailing 3-2 in the fifth last night, leadoff man Jon Jay stepped to the plate to try to get something going.
He succeeded, singling to right, and ultimately scoring on Ben Zobrist’s two-run single later in the inning.
Awesome, right?
Except noting only that Jay “singled to right” is akin to saying that the Cubs hadn’t won the World Series for a few years before 2016.
Jay’s at bat was magnificent. It was special. It was a 15-pitch work of art:
I mean, just look at this thing:
Jon Jay had himself an AB pic.twitter.com/hgy0OeZRsV
— Luis M. (@lcm1986) September 23, 2017
I think the man who later scored Jay summed it up best:
Best At-Bat all season by anyone anywhere https://t.co/INXslxcOgL
— Ben Zobrist (@benzobrist18) September 23, 2017
Jay is not everyone’s favorite leadoff hitter for a variety of reasons (the Cubs simply don’t have a natural one right now), and he has struggled at times now that he’s playing much more frequently and is exposed to more pitchers. But he almost always works a good plate appearance, and, if nothing else, that is a valuable skill for a leadoff hitter, which pays dividends for other guys in the order.