Tag: Ian Happ

Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas ejected in the first inning after bizarre sequence against the Cubs

What a wacky start to this Cardinals-Cubs game!

Miles Mikolas’ start against the Chicago Cubs didn’t even last a complete half inning thanks to some truly bizarre first inning shenanigans.

On Thursday, the St. Louis Cardinals were hosting the Cubs with Mikolas on the pitcher’s mound to start the game. Mikolas made it through two outs relatively easily before complete chaos ensued.

First, catcher Willson Contreras left the game after being hit in the head by Ian Happ’s errant backswing. Contreras was bleeding from his head when he left, but Happ and the Cardinals catcher seemed to make amends as he was escorted off the field.

MORE: Every MLB stadium, ranked worst to best

Mikolas’ next pitch, however, is when things got dicey. Mikolas threw a fastball that went up and in on Happ, missing the Cubs outfielder. Then on the next pitch, Mikolas hit Happ on the backside with another fastball, which then earned the Cardinals pitcher an ejection after an umpire conference. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol even got ejected as well arguing the call!

Here’s how the whole bizarre sequence went down, starting with Happ’s backswing hit on Contreras.

Definitely one of the more weird situations we’ve seen in baseball this year. All at the top of the first, no less!

MLB fans were completely divided over the incident on Twitter. Was it wrong that Mikolas was given no warning for hitting Happ? Was Happ’s backswing that hit Contreras intentional? Here’s what Twitter had to say about the whole affair.

Cubs’ Willson Contreras, Ian Happ shared an emotional hug after possible final home game together

Willson Contreras and Ian Happ’s final Cubs home game ahead of the trade deadline ended on a bittersweet note.

The 2022 MLB trade deadline is fast approaching and Willson Contreras and Ian Happ may have played their last home game with the Chicago Cubs.

After Tuesday’s 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, cameras caught Contreras and Happ sharing quite the emotional hug in Chicago’s dugout. Both players have spent their entire careers with the Cubs — Contreras was a rookie when Chicago won the World Series in 2016 and Happ joined the team the year after — and trade rumors suggest both are leaving the team by the August 2 deadline.

Not only that, Contreras was given a standing ovation from the Cubs faithful during the game to mark the coming inevitability.

So, yeah, it’s no wonder Tuesday’s game was a bittersweet moment for the pair with the trade deadline just days away. If you’re a Cubs fan, you might want to grab some tissues before you watch these videos.

Trade deadline season is never easy for teams with long-standing players, especially ones that have made such a big impact as Contreras and Happ have for the Cubs. It’s a shame it likely has to end this way in Chicago for these guys.

[mm-video type=video id=01g897h1nbcxv8h31gbt playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g897h1nbcxv8h31gbt/01g897h1nbcxv8h31gbt-db7df85b5beea417fc313e6da5e87d36.jpg]

[listicle id=1942592]

Here’s why Joc Pederson got a waffle maker after his first home run with the Cubs

Joc really got a waffle iron. Wow.

It seems like things are finally starting to click for Joc Pederson and the Cubs after the left fielder moved on from the Dodgers this offseason. He finally hit his first homer with his new team on Wednesday and he was thrilled about it.

It was a timely one, too. It came in the 8th inning when the Cubs were down 1-0 to the Brewers. With the way Pederson walked the bases, you could tell he was excited about hitting his first home run for Chicago.

It was a straight-up bomb. The Cubs ended up losing the game 4-2, but it was still good to see Pederson getting one over the wall finally.

But the real kicker here was the gift that the Cubs gave him after he hit it. He got a new waffle iron when he hit the dugout. Yes, really. That happened. And he was clearly, he was thrilled about it.

That’s wild, right? That’s such a random gift. But when you actually figure out the reasoning behind it, it makes a bit more sense. This was all part of a plan to get Pederson out of his slump, per CBS Sports.

In baseball, “waffling” is a good thing. It means you’ve made good contact with a pitch. And for the last few years, Pederson’s teammate Ian Happ has been bringing waffle irons to games to celebrate.

It worked for Pederson.

“It was huge. Grinded a little bit to start the season, just to kind of get the first one, especially in front of the fans and whatnot. I think it’s a little bit more added pressure than normal. Yeah, it was a big relief,” Pederson said. 

Hopefully, for the Cubs, there are a lot more waffle irons to pass out soon.

[mm-video type=video id=01f2mcc5nc8daxxre0 playlist_id=01f09p3bf720d8rg02 player_id=01evcfkb10bw5a3nky image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f2mcc5nc8daxxre0/01f2mcc5nc8daxxre0-38bab8666b46f1e595f75fb5d97eb6dc.jpg]