NEWSLETTER
I don’t expect anything groundbreaking on the lockout on a Saturday night, so I thought you might want to enjoy a happy moment from the 2021 season past. I don’t know if it’s my FAVORITE moment, but it’s definitely in the top five. I might have to put them all together at some point over the next month. NOT LIKE I WON’T HAVE THE TIME! (Also the Bulls news really pissed me off so I just wanted to think about something light and fun.)
Anyway, with the Cubs getting smoked by the Braves in late April, one of the best relievers of all-time was summoned to face Freddie Freeman, then 4-4 in the game. Naturally, Anthony Rizzo, a good chum of Freeman’s, dropped some funk on him and struck out the reigning MVP. Enjoy the memory, and a lot of the fun fallout:
“I was in the on-deck circle and had a straight shot to Freddie and I was kinda loosening my arm up and I go, ‘I want you,’ pointing at him,” Rizzo said after the game, per Marquee. “It was fun. When Rossy asked if I wanted to pitch, obviously I’m not gonna try to blow it out and hurt myself by any means …. It helped lighten the mood here. Obviously we’re not winning but when you can have fun like that and break up kind of the bad feeling, it helps in the long run.”
No pitcher in @MLB history has a lower ERA than @ARizzo44. pic.twitter.com/vDzb7rjP9S
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 29, 2021
https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1387603849620426752
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 29, 2021
Anthony Rizzo's K of Freddie Freeman was the 3rd time in the Expansion Era (since 1961) that a position player who had already been an All Star struck out another All Star
Others:
9/18/20: Todd Frazier K'ed Adam Duvall
9/29/19: Ben Zobrist K'ed Yadier Molina
h/t @EliasSports
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 29, 2021
