Kuzul

Noah Syndergaard can throw really hard. Just ask his catcher.

The New York Mets pitcher dropped the hammer of Thor during the team’s 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, dealing a pitch with enough force to leave a mark on catcher Kevin Plawecki, who had to block it with his chest protector.

The mark was an imprint from the necklace Plawecki wears beneath his uniform, and even the shape of the chain was still visible by the time a picture was taken.

Now that takes some Asgard-caliber power.

[h/t Cut4]

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In the never-ending game of “who traveled the farthest to see an athlete play,” one fan tried to trump others at Citizens Bank Park for Saturday’s Washington Nationals–Philadelphia Phillies game by detailing his 4,000-mile trek on a poster.

Except there was one problem.

According to his sign, he was there to see Bruce Harper play—or just forgot how to write the “Y” for Nationals slugger Bryce Harper.

But who knows. The poor guy might just be disappointed Bruce never showed up.

[Twitter]

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One Detroit Tigers fan collected more foul balls on Monday than his team did runs, as Detroit lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-4.

That’s right, he caught five foul balls.

But he didn’t keep the souvenirs for himself. Instead, he gave them away to kids in the crowd at Comerica Park. Now that is true sportsmanship.

[MLB.com]

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Make it two for Madison Bumgarner, the only pitcher to ever hit a home run off Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.

The San Francisco Giants ace drove the solo shot over the left field wall at AT&T Park on Saturday—his second career homer off Kershaw—lifting the Giants to a 1-0 lead in the second inning.

San Francisco won the first two games of the series, which will end with the fourth on Sunday.

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Bryce Harper 2016.

The Washington Nationals slugger traded in his uniform cap for a “Make Baseball Fun Again” hat after the team’s 4-3 Opening Day win over the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on Monday, addressing the media in his Donald Trump-inspired piece of headwear.

But the statement the reigning National League MVP makes with his version is more than just topical. It embodies his not-so-secret take from his ESPN The Magazine interview on the “tired” game of Major League Baseball and its strict limitations on celebrations.

[Twitter]

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It must be an even year.

The San Francisco Giants put together a dominant Opening Day performance against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park, slugging three consecutive home runs in the top of the eighth inning.

Center fielder Denard Span cracked things open for the Giants, driving in his three-run blast on a 3-2 offering from right-hander Ariel Pena. 

Second baseman Joe Panik followed suit, crushing his solo shot to right field, while catcher Buster Posey rounded the trio out with a first-pitch homer.

San Francisco came away with its first win, trumping the Brewers 12-3.

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A young Chicago Cubs fan knocked his promposal out of the park thanks to Kris Bryant.

The fan, Vince Santoria, tracked down the third baseman before the first pitch of Chicago’s spring training game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday to recruit his help. 

That’s when he snapped the photo above of Bryant holding a sign with the big question: “Julia, will you go to prom with Vince?”

Vince even added “yes” and “no” boxes with “check one” at the bottom of the board. As if Julia really needed the latter option (note the all-caps response):

[Twitter, h/t MLB.com]

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It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s Independence Day?

The Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros had to call their spring training game early on Friday when some pretty daunting storm clouds rolled in during their 1-1 tie.

Bleacher Report’s Barrett Sallee likened the scene to one straight out of the 1996 thriller: 

While one fan had a similar impression, calling it the apocalypse:

In any case, consider Adam Morrison prepared.

[Instagram, Twitter]

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Spring is in the air, and the smell of baseball couldn’t be sweeter.

New York Mets second baseman Dilson Herrera smashed a 1-0 offering into left field in the bottom of the ninth Friday, circling the bases faster than Miami Marlins outfielder Tommy Medica could recover. He hammered the inside-the-park home run to tie the spring training game at four.

[MLB.com, h/t The Score]

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Yoenis Cespedes enjoys the finer things in life, like custom whips and expensive county fair pigs.

The New York Mets outfielder returned to the St. Lucie County Fair on Sunday with a thick wad of cash after taking in the Saturday night scene, bidding away on a 270-pound grand champion hog.

He wound up dropping $7,000 on the farm animal, later posing with the 14-year-old fan who raised it:

Update from Wednesday, March 2

This bizarre story has taken a turn for the worse, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post and Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News:

—End of Update—

[Twitter, h/t ESPN.com]

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