Two balls, one strike.
Poise under pressure and the ability to quickly diagnose a play are hallmarks of a great MLB catcher. On Monday night Mike Zunino helped record the most legendary out of the season by firing a pinpoint accurate throw to second — right into the nuts of Akil Baddoo.
Whether this was “right place, right time” or “wrong place, wrong time” is all a matter of perspective. Baddoo was trying to steal second, and the penalty for this in Cleveland is getting hit in the nuts. Zunino didn’t make the rule, he just enforced it.
Naturally we can’t throw shade on the power of a testicular contusion that caused Baddoo to collapse in a heap, allowing for the easy out here. Personally, I wouldn’t have moved for two innings. They would have needed to bring out the stretcher and lift me off the field after taking a throw like this to the beans. That’s just having a solid understanding of my body’s limitations.
The Guardians may have lost 6-2 on Monday, but they have a memory that will last a lifetime: Someone being hit in the junk.
