When I looked at Gameday during Monday night’s battle between the playoff-bound Toronto Blue Jays and the also playoff-bound-but-objectively-good-in-a-terrifying-way New York Yankees, I expected the worst.
Given the Bronx Bombing the Yankees visiting upon the heads of the Blue Jays last week at Yankee Stadium, I didn’t have high hopes as the Blue Jays attempted to lockdown their postseason berth. And then, I saw it, a magical boxscore notw if ever there was one.
Oh, what wonders await me? A triple? In Buffalo?? Vladimir Guerrero Jr isn’t exactly a breathtaking runner. As has been mentioned many times before, he’s a below-average runner already getting slower at the tender age of 21. And when he runs the bases, he tends to do so in a manner that causes the viewer to hold their breath rather than takes the viewer’s breath away.
With this context in mind, I could only wonder: What sort of demonry allowed the Vladimir Guerrero Jr an extra base hit (just his fifth this month, first in 20 plate appearances) but a three-bagger at that?!? Impatiently, I searched twitter for another highlight for the ages but lo, what a found was only folly.
A triple might be baseball’s most exciting play in baseball. Except when it’s not. A frame by frame breakdown of this play would reveal confusion and ineptitude on the part of the Yankees’ outfielders, and not for the first time, but it’s hardly the thrill ride we expect of guys like Vlad chugging 270 feet for a triple.
While the 19 home run onslaught the Yankees subjected the Blue Jays to last week won’t soon be forgotten, there’s never a bad time to go for a sly nip of Yankees tears, should the opportunity present itself. Thanks to the magic of old tweets, well, 건배.
As for Vlad, this triple was the first of three extra base hits for him on the night, though none of them were the kind of aesthetic wonders we expect from the Blue Jays first baseman.
For a guy who has struggled so mightily at times this season, a little bit of luck is more than welcome. After so many good swings went unrewarded, so many extra ticks of SLG were stolen by outfield fences, it’s nice to see a few pennies from heaven land at Vlad Jr’s door. I’ve seen a few wolves starting to gather there, hopefully this might send them away for another few weeks.