THE At-Bat

It has been said that if you are around the game of baseball long enough, you will see everything there is to see in our National Pastime. In Wednesday night’s exciting come-from-behind 10-5 Dodgers win over the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, there was another ‘everything’ that many – if not most – baseball fans can check off in their ‘seen everything’ book.

With no outs in the top of the sixth inning and the score tied 3-3, 32-year-old Giants left-hander Taylor Rogers walked the bases loaded.

No, that’s not the ‘everything,’ not even close.

Rogers then walked Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman to give the Dodgers a (then) 4-3 lead – a lead that they would not surrender.

No, that’s not the ‘everything’ either. But it did end Rogers’ night and took 35-year-old Giants right-handed starter Alex Cobb out of the win column and (potentially) put Dodgers ace and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw in it.

No, the ‘everything’ was that Freeman’s At-Bat (which is technically considered a ‘Plate Appearance’ since walks are not considered official At-Bats), took 15 pitches, of which 11 he fouled off.

It took 15 pitches and 11 foul balls for Freeman to have what is arguably THE best Plate Appearance you will ever see. (SportsNet LA)

THAT is something you don’t (and won’t) see everyday … if ever again.

Just how unique and special was Freeman’s At Bat? This from DodgerInsider on Twitter:

(@DodgerInsider)

“I mean, I think Freddie’s at-bat was maybe the catalyst for everything,” Kershaw told reporters postgame about that incredible five-run/game-winning sixth inning. “You know, just the way guys got fired up for that, the way Freddie grinded through that at-bat, got that walk, gave us the lead, and then just from there, the floodgates opened.”

Those floodgates included a two-home-run-night – again – by Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, which he also did two days earlier against The Hated Ones.

In the top of the fifth inning, the popular 32-year-old Midland, TX native hit a solo home run to very deep straightaway centerfield to tie the game 3-3. And then, in the top of that epic sixth inning, Muncy hit a three-run shot, which missed being a signature Max Muncy “go-get-it-out-of-the-ocean” ‘Splash-hit’ by maybe two feet. In Monday’s 9-1 shellacking of the Giants, Muncy also homered twice – his first a three-run blast, and his second, a grand slam, accounting for seven of his team’s nine runs.

“I feel like I’m getting in a good position right now. It’s allowing me to recognize pitches,” Muncy told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson after his four-RBI night on Wednesday. “The pitches that I’m taking down in the zone, that tells me all that I need to know, that I’m not jumping out at it, and I’m in a good position. And I’m gonna trust myself as long as I’m getting in a good position, and hopefully hit the mistakes when they throw them.”

Muncy’s three-run shot on Wednesday night came within a foot or two from being yet another famous Max Muncy ‘Splash Hit,’ as they are called. (SportsNet LA)

If you missed Wednesday night’s historic game on television or radio, you can probably get away with telling your friends that you did see or hear it.

…and can check it off of your ‘seen everything’ list.

Play Ball!

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