Kuzul

We’ve seen Yasiel Puig work the bat flip after home runs, doubles and even long fly balls that are caught. But this is a new one. 

In the third inning of the Dodgers-Braves game, Mike Minor induced a first-pitch lazy fly ball from Puig, and the star outfielder wasn’t happy with himself. So he flipped his bat and took off toward first base. 

But Puig likely underestimated his strength, as it flew all the way toward Matt Kemp, who had to move to avoid being hit by the flying bat. 

Yasiel Puig. Only he can make pop-ups exciting. 

[MLB GIFs]

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The Royals are on a warpath.

Kansas City won its eighth game in a row on Monday night, overcoming the Oakland A’s to pull into pole position in the AL Central for the first time in 10 years.

Of course, the most important product of the win was the capstone celebration: a ridiculously athletic backflip by Jarrod Dyson.

The Royals outfielder caught the game-winning catch at the top the ninth—a high shot to center—and celebrated by launching himself end over end.

There may or may not be springs and/or pistons stuffed in Dyson’s shoes. I’ve put more effort into standing up from a bean bag chair than he did flinging his entire body into the sky.

Now, on to a decidedly less fun matter: Will the A’s bite back?

Baseball’s rich tradition of petty, anti-fun laws could mean a bean ball is in Dyson’s future.

Teams adhering to arbitrary codes of conduct are why we can’t have nice things anymore. Dyson did exactly what he should’ve done—act like he hadn’t been there before, because he hasn’t, and the team hasn’t been in such a position in a decade.

Alas, if the A’s come after Dyson, they’ll probably find themselves flustered again. He looks capable of flipping over a fastball.

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A crafty Chicago Cubs fan not only managed a dangerously impressive grab in the last row of the bleachers at Wrigley Field, but he apparently pulled a switcheroo when he threw it back. 

Mark Reynolds of the Milwaukee Brewers hit a home run in the top of the second that nearly carried out of Wrigley Field before a Cubbies fan with a glove reached up for the snow-cone catch. According to one man on Twitter, he also swapped his ball out before throwing it back. This guy is full of tricks.

[MLB, h/t The Big Lead]

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It’s no secret that Kate Upton is dating Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander, which made her recent situation with the New York Yankees quite interesting.

While filling in as a co-host for Kelly Ripa on Live! With Kelly and Michael, Upton was asked multiple questions by Michael Strahan.

Upton admitted to being a Yankees fan but mentioned that the organization would not let her wear any Tigers gear at the stadium when she went to watch Verlander play.

“They specifically told me, the Yankees told me, they’re like, ‘You’re not allowed to wear a Tigers hat,'” Upton told Strahan.  “‘You’re not allowed to wear any Tigers gear.’ It’s like a bad breakup.”

You can listen to the comments at around the 2:35 mark

[YouTube, h/t The Big Lead]

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Oakland Athletics outfielder Coco Crisp debuted an interesting hair style on Friday night.

During the team’s game against the Minnesota Twins, Crisp was seen sporting his new ‘do. Whatever happened back there might have worked, as he had a big bases-clearing triple early in the game to help give the Athletics a 6-5 win.

[MLB.com]

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As New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter nears the end of his final season in Major League Baseball, he continues to move up the all-time hit list.

During Friday’s game against the Cleveland Indians, Jeter got a base hit in the bottom of the first inning, giving him 3,430 career hits. With that single, he moves into a tie for sixth with Honus Wagner on the career hit list. 

[MLB.com]

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Oakland A’s outfielder Jonny Gomes was doing an interview on MLB Network’s Intentional Talk when he decided to introduce the world to the multitalented Stephen Vogt.

Although the Athletics are paying Vogt to be a utility man, he could probably earn a little bit of extra cash by being an NBA referee in the offseason. Luckily for him, baseball season ends just in time for the NBA season to begin.

Vogt is a true Renaissance man.

[MLB Network]

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The Colorado Rockies made headlines when they gave away T-shirts to their fans with Troy Tulowitzki’s name misspelled. Apparently, they haven’t learned from their mistake. 

Just two weeks later, a Rockies fan pointed out that his collector’s cup features Nolan Arenado’s name misspelled. 

Maybe the Rockies should just give up on this whole “giving fans free gifts” thing.

[Twitter, h/t SportsGrid]

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Two rules to live by: Don’t mess with Georgia and don’t steal from Hank Aaron.

A Georgia man will be on probation for the next half-century after pleading guilty to breaking into the Hall of Famer’s house and taking several of the former pro’s prized baseball possessions.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Steve Visser (h/t Scooby Axson of Sports Illustrated) reports that Fulton County superior court judge Shawn Ellen LaGrua sentenced 24-year-old Isiah Slaton to eight years in prison and 42 years of probation after he and two alleged accomplices broke into Aaron’s home on July 14, 2013, and ransacked the premises for valuables. 

Visser reports that Aaron and his wife were in New York for the MLB All-Star Game when the burglary occurred. The thieves stole the former All-Star’s baseball rings (presumably including his 1957 World Series championship ring), which Visser reports were destined to end up on display in the Hall of Fame. 

Other items listed among those stolen were Aaron’s two BMWs, which the burglars ditched after failing to disarm their “LoJack” satellite positioning systems. 

Authorities managed to lift fingerprints off at least one of the vehicles, according to Visser, which led to the arrests of Slaton and two other men. 

Ostensibly hoping for lenience, Slaton pleaded guilty and found no quarter with the judge. This is what happens when you mess with Georgia’s legends—it bites you square in the perineum.

It’s unclear if Slaton committed prior offenses warranting such a heavy-handed punishment, but I prefer a reality where sentencing Judge LaGrua is the biggest Hank Aaron fan in the county—that she spent her childhood attending Braves games with her dad and catching the right fielder’s home run balls—and this is the justice meted out by a righteous defender of baseball’s old guard.

Would that be an outrageous abuse of power? Yes, but this is my reality, where baseball bandits sweat through their sheets every night fearing the crack of the gavel.

Also, remember this is 80-year-old Hank Aaron who these burglars purposely targeted. The poor man stated in his witness impact statement that he felt “violated” after his “priceless” possessions were stolen. 

Georgia doesn’t take kindly to people violating its living monuments.

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Oakland Athletics outfielder Josh Reddick must believe that rubbing his teammates’ beards is only weird if it doesn’t work. Now that he found out that it does work, he will probably do it whenever his team needs a rally.

Monday’s game between the A’s and the Tampa Bay Rays went to extra innings, which is when Reddick pulled out a well-timed trick. With the bases loaded and just one out in the bottom of the 10th inning, Reddick played with the beards of Stephen Vogt and Eric Sogard for good luck.

It didn’t work right away, as Brandon Moss struck out during that at-bat. However, the next batter ended the game with a walk-off single.

Derek Norris’ game-winning hit gave the A’s a 3-2 victory.

[MLB.com]

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