Let me say up front that, even if Yan Gomes hadn’t collided with Drew Smyly in the 8th inning on that dribbler, I don’t think either one of them is making the play. It was just a perfectly awful squib that was going to be a hit no matter what.
THAT SAID, of course it was extra melancholy to see Smyly lose his perfect game on a play like that.
I’m glad that the rest of the baseball world got to have some fun with a crazy moment, but I imagine it was a little tough to swallow in the clubhouse, at least initially. The guys were really close to history, and I don’t think you want the end of that to totally become a joke. Smyly had a great attitude about the play and the whole game, even if you could tell he was disappointed:
But that doesn’t mean you can’t joke about the crazy play eventually. In fact, it’s probably a great sign of the mood in the clubhouse that the Cubs do have a sense of humor about this kind of thing.
Yan Gomes himself typified it perfectly when he came out for his post-game interview … wearing a football helmet: