GIF: Hiroyuki Nakajima in Context, in Context
Jeff Sullivan wrote a great post — as he is wont to do — about putting Hiroyuki Nakajima in context. He mentioned Nakajima’s bat flip. Carson Cistulli posted it. It was grand.
But then I saw video of Norihiro Nakamura, he of the .051 ISO and the 41 plate appearances for the Dodgers in 2005. Doing this.
Where Nakajima had a sort of panache, maybe with an easy grace, Nakamura is an explosion, a cannonball, a rocket going off. Could just be some sort of coincidence? Many men have bat flips, after all.
Unless…
Watch this video. This collection of bat flips from the Japanese league. Nakajima and Nakamura have nothing on some of these guys.
And it’s not like it’s the purview of a few hot-heads. Apppreciate the ginormous bat flip from Tatsunori Hara. The current manager for the Yomiuri Giants. Who led the Japanese national team to victory in the WBC.
Japanese baseball. Check it out.
[You could do that by going to NPBTracker and perusing Patrick Newman’s site, since he was so kind to send me on this crazy ride.]
With a phone full of pictures of pitchers' fingers, strange beers, and his two toddler sons, Eno Sarris can be found at the ballpark or a brewery most days. Read him here, writing about the A's or Giants at The Athletic, or about beer at October. Follow him on Twitter @enosarris if you can handle the sandwiches and inanity.
That kind of theatrics would guarantee a four-seamer to the ear in the old days. Now they just write letters of complaint to their mommies.
Ignorant.
Duck next time, dummy.
Absolutely incredible!