The Chicago Cubs are in the thick of a super tight NL Wild Card race with only a few games left in the 2023 season, and what happened Tuesday night was the most heartbreaking.
The team was up 6-0 in the bottom of the sixth on the powerful Atlanta Braves. But Atlanta fought back to the point where they were down by just a run with men on second and third and two out in the eighth.
Sean Murphy hit a pop fly to right field, where Suzuki called off Cody Bellinger … and completely missed for a heartbreaking error in the eventual loss.
Cubs broadcast reacts to Seiya Suzuki missing the ball: pic.twitter.com/ms5I9Bp5U8
— MLB Clutch Moments And Walk Offs (@MLBWalk_Offs) September 27, 2023
For Cubs fans, it was shades of this with Brant Brown dropping a key fly ball in 1998:
The year was 1998. I was 9 years old. The Cubs were fighting for a Wild Card, and I’ll never forget this botched ball by Brant Brown.
Seiya Suzuki made me re-live my youth. pic.twitter.com/xF7bl3BxjH
— Ryan (@downsr30) September 27, 2023
What happened? Here’s an answer from Suzuki via ESPN:
Afterward, Suzuki said the lights at Truist Park played a part in the error, but he refused to use that as an excuse.
“I was seeing it pretty well until the very last second,” Suzuki said through his interpreter. “I honestly thought it went into my glove. So it was just that split second where I blurred my vision.
“Ever since I was playing in Japan you do have to take that [the lights] into consideration. … If I do say that, then it’s an excuse, so I’m not going to say that.”
Heartbreak. All around.