Mics picked up what a livid Seby Zavala said to Oneil Cruz before benches cleared in Pittsburgh

That explains why benches cleared.

In recent years, Major League Baseball has instituted rules designed to protect both the base runner and catcher from dangerous collisions at the plate. But as we saw on Sunday, even an accidental collision can turn costly and infuriate players.

During the sixth inning between the White Sox and Pirates, Oneil Cruz was thrown out at home as he tried to score on a ground ball to third. Cruz — one of the brightest young players in the game — was hurt on the play. But White Sox catcher Seby Zavala immediately took exception to how Cruz slid into home. Rather than checking on Cruz, Zavala had choice words for the Pirates star.

The broadcast microphones picked up what was said before benches cleared. (Warning: NSFW language)

Zavala said, “(Expletive), what the (expletive) was that?” The teams then had to be separated, but the bench-clearing incident didn’t escalate beyond pushing and shoving.

Obviously, there is serious concern about Cruz, and no player wants to see anyone get hurt. Still, it was easy to see why Zavala was upset. MLB rules require catchers to give the runner a window to the plate, and Zavala did just that, leaving the outside of the plate for Cruz. Yet, Cruz slid inside right towards Zavala.

Zavala even cleared the bat out of the way for Cruz. He wasn’t trying to put Cruz in harm’s way.

Cruz left the game due to the injury, and Zavala was replaced the following inning. No players were ejected from the altercation.

Update: Cruz suffered a fractured ankle on the play. Ugh.

A Citi Field security guard had the most hilarious reaction to avoiding an Oneil Cruz flying bat

This was scary!

A bat accidentally flying out of a batter’s hands and into the crowd is a scary thing, no matter who’s at the plate.

But when it’s coming out of the hands of Oneil Cruz, who has hit the hardest-batted ball in the Statcast era and who let his bat go once before, it’s doubly scary.

In this case, it happened in Thursday’s Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates game in New York. The bat went flying when Cruz struck out, and the security guard who avoided it got caught on camera had a terrified look on his face.

Check it out and the reaction from around Twitter:

Pirates’ Oneil Cruz let his bat go in a near-disaster that led to a fan getting a signed Bryce Harper jersey

This could have been A LOT worse!

As a 6-foot-7, 220-pound shortstop, the Pirates’ Oneil Cruz is one of the more fascinating young players in baseball. Just this year, Cruz has shown off his tremendous arm strength on multiple occasions and recently hit the hardest-batted ball in the Statcast era.

On Friday night, an accident on the part of Cruz almost made for a disaster on the road against the Phillies (-1.5). With Cruz up to bat against Bailey Falter in the top of the third inning, the 23-year-old shortstop went through what was supposed to be a routine swing at a Falter pitch.

Cruz missed and struck out but let his bat go flying back into the stands behind him at Citizens Bank Park. Uh-oh. Fortunately, the bat didn’t seem to hit or hurt anyone:

That definitely could have been a lot worse. Thankfully, the netting behind home plate seemed to slow Cruz’s bat down a little, and where the bat landed also appeared to be in a spot where there were fewer people.

In a serendipitous twist of fate, the bat landed just behind the row where former Phillies All-Star Mickey Morandini was sitting. While the fans who got the bat had to eventually return it, Morandini would gift them a signed Bryce Harper bat and jersey for their troubles:

A scary moment averted and a happy ending for some lucky fans.

Oneil Cruz hit the hardest-batted ball in the Statcast era at 122.4 mph and MLB fans were justifiably impressed

How is that possible?!

While the numbers haven’t been quite what Pirates fans would have liked from Oneil Cruz, the rookie shortstop has shown the ability to do things on the baseball field that simply have not been done before.

Cruz — a 6-foot-7 middle infielder — already holds the Statcast record (started in 2015) for the fastest-recorded throw from the infield at 97.8 mph. On Wednesday, it was time for Cruz to move atop the record list with his bat.

During the third inning against the Atlanta Braves, Cruz ripped a 122.4 mph line-drive single off the wall. It was the hardest-batted ball since Giancarlo Stanton’s 122.2 mph rocket of a double play in 2017.

This was a rare occasion where exit velocity somewhat limited the result for Cruz. He hit it so hard that the ball bounced quickly off the wall to Ronald Acuña Jr., holding Cruz to a long single.

Still, what a hit. And MLB fans were impressed with Cruz’s latest record-setting highlight.

Pirates rookie Oneil Cruz made MLB history with a scorching 97.8 mph throw from shortstop

An actual CANNON.

Pirates rookie shortstop Oneil Cruz hasn’t even been up with the big-league club for a full month, and he’s already making jaw-dropping plays on a near daily basis.

While Cruz has struggled hitting for average thus far, his potential is undeniable. But it’s his throwing arm that has truly left MLB fans at a loss for words. The 23-year-old has an absolute cannon, and at this rate, the Statcast rankings are just going to be a bunch of Oneil Cruz throws. In his first game of 2022, he threw a 96.7 mph strike from shortstop to first base. And now, he beat that.

On Thursday against the Marlins, he had a throw for the record books.

With Luke Williams at the plate, Cruz fielded a grounder on the move and loaded up for a 97.8 mph throw to first. According to MLB, it was the fastest recorded infield throw in the Statcast era. And let’s not overlook the stretch from first baseman Michael Chavis. Everything about that play was awesome, but the throw … what an arm.

MLB fans could watch Cruz throw a baseball all day.

¡Vean esto! Oneil Cruz , shortstop novato de los Pirates, lanzó la pelota a 1B a 96.7 mph

Los fans de los Pittsburgh Pirates no han tenido muchas cosas por las que emocionarse en los últimos años, pero Oneil Cruz puede ser quien cambie las cosas. El shortstop de 6’7″ (!!!) jugó un par de juegos en 2021 y este lunes regresó al club de los …

Los fans de los Pittsburgh Pirates no han tenido muchas cosas por las que emocionarse en los últimos años, pero Oneil Cruz puede ser quien cambie las cosas.

El shortstop de 6’7” (!!!) jugó un par de juegos en 2021 y este lunes regresó al club de los grandes para hacer su debut en 2022. ¡Y vaya que supo cómo dejar una impresión!

En la tercera entrada del juego de los Pirates contra los Cubs, Cruz atrapó una rodadita del bat de Willson Contreras y lanzó uno de los tiros más difíciles a través del campo que hemos visto en esta temporada de la MLB. El tiro marcó una velocidad de 96.7 mph y se vio como un rayo láser atravesando el diamante.

 

Traducción: Entonces: ONeil Cruz ha sido el reemplazo por unos 25 minutos. Ya tiene el tiro más rápido de la temporada (96.7) lanzado por un jugador de cuadro. Creo que esto va a funcionar.

 

No en todos los juegos puede escucharse a la cabina de transmisión emocionarse por el lanzamiento de un shortstop, pero ese lanzamiento fue cosa de otro mundo. Ni siquiera parecía real. Podemos perdonar el double-clutch con un brazo como ese.

Además de presumir el brazo, Cruz estuvo 2-5 con 4 RBI (carreras impulsadas) en la victoria 12-1. Los fans de la MLB no podían superar ese lanzamiento, simplemente les encantó.

Así fue como reaccionó Twitter:

Traducción: Agreguen esto a Barry Bonds en el Yankee Stadium, Manny en el SkyDome para los videos de beisbol que puedo ver eternamente. 

 

Traducción: Podría ser el lanzamiento más difícil a través del diamante que he visto.

 

Traducción: Si yo fuera el primera base, simplemente me hubiera agachado para salirme del camino de ese misil.

 

Traducción: Si yo fuera Chavis, estaría aterrado de jugar en 1B.

 

Claro que podemos acostumbrarnos a ver tiros como ese.

 

Artículo traducido por Ana Lucía Toledo

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Pirates rookie Oneil Cruz wowed baseball fans with a blistering 96.7 mph throw from shortstop

An absolute LASER.

Pittsburgh Pirates fans haven’t had much to get excited about in recent years, but Oneil Cruz might be the one to change all of that.

The 6-foot-7 shortstop (!!!) played a couple games in 2021 and was back with the big club on Monday to make his 2022 debut. And oh man, he certainly knew how to make an impression.

In the third inning of the Pirates’ game against the Cubs, Cruz fielded a grounder off the bat of Willson Contreras and unleashed the hardest throw across the infield we’ve seen this MLB season. The throw was clocked at 96.7 mph and it looked like a laser beam making its way across the diamond.

It’s not every game that you hear a broadcast booth get excited about a throw from shortstop, but that throw was just something else. It didn’t even look real. You can forgive the double-clutch on the throw with an arm like that.

On top of showing off the arm, Cruz went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI in the 12-1 win. MLB fans understandably couldn’t get over that throw.