Might As Well Enjoy The Pickle

The clock continues to tick in the NFL lockout and I’m losing hope that I’ll be seeing any pigskin this year.  So, what the heck?  Here are a few baseball vids for shiggles.

The Top Five Most Amazing Baseball Plays ALL TIME*
* If Time Only Existed in the 10 Minutes I Spent On YouTube

1. Okay, this one’s already made the rounds on the web faster than a Red Hot Chili Peppers groupie in Lollapalooza, but here’s a Cirque du Soleil throwing out the first pitch at Petco Park.  I’m not sure what’s more amazing: the flip-pitch or the fact that he can wear that costume without a shred of irony?

2. This is called a “spider-man catch” because the outfielder spews webbing form his wrists and … wait, no, that’s not quite it.  Well, you get the picture.  So, watch Masato Akamatsu’s Spider-man Catch and be amazed by both his athleticism and the fact that a Japanese player actually cracked a smile of pride.

3. …until he saw this Spider-man Catch by a Ball Girl.  Again, what is better: her athleticism or the cool “Yeah-I-Just-Did-That” nod to the MLB player who stood with mouth agape?  Now, that’s the 21st Century version of “You play baseball … like a girl!”  Gloria Steinem would be proud — well, probably not.

4. Speaking of non-MLB plays, here is the aforementioned amazing and Longest Pickle (rundown) Ever Recorded By A Softball Dad With Shaky Caffeine Hands.  I may have editorialized a little, there.

5. And this one is not about athleticism, or spectacle, or even cute kiddie luck.  This one is about the most important and (presently forgotten) part of the game: sportsmanship.  It’s a famed play as it won a national award but I still remember this whenever anyone talks about amazing baseball moments (screw you purists and your softball differentiation).  Sarah Tucholsky’s First and Last Homerun:

So, there you go.  I haven’t really enjoyed MLB since after the Jays twofer’d the World Series and then the league went on strike (but the reasons for that are for a whole different post) but, even though I find it hard to stomach watching an entire game, it still makes for fun highlights.

And every once in a while, I still care about the boys and girls of summer.