PHOENIX — Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo led off with 10th inning of Wednesday’s wild 6-5, 11-inning survival in the Arizona desert looking to hit the ball to the right side. All he wanted to do was use his excellent bat-to-ball skills to advance ghost runner Anthony Volpe to third base and get Juan Soto to the plate while only needing a fairly deep flyball to break the tie.
In that situation, Verdugo would have been content with a groundball to second base, especially considering base hits have been hard to come by for the career .280 hitter in his first week of regular-season games as a Yankee.
“Just gotta get him over,” Verdugo told him while digging into the box to face of the National League’s best relievers.
SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE YANKEES NEWSLETTER:
Diamondbacks reliever Kevin Ginkel started Verdugo with a good pitch, a 96-mph four-seamer that was near the top of the strike zone on the inside portion of the plate.
Verdugo thought he could pull the pitch, took a big hack and connected on the barrel.
Everyone knew right away this ball wasn’t coming back, and it didn’t. Verdugo’s first homer of the year was a 395-foot, two-run dinger that reclaimed the lead.
And that’s when Yankees fans got to see what Verdugo brings besides a good bat and excellent outfield play.
First, Verdugo stood in the batter’s box and watched his flyball sail out to right. Then, once it was in the seats, he delivered an epic bat flip that would have made Jose Bautista proud.
And then Verdugo saved his best for last.
With Yankees players in the dugout barking like they were a pack of dogs, Verdugo went into a home run trot that took forever.
“I wish he would have taken some time to admire it,” Aaron Boone joked.
Statcast’s timer clocked Verdugo’s lap around the bases at 30.9 seconds, the longest in the majors this year.
“When you hit one like that in a big spot, let the kids play, right?” Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon said.
Aaron Judge enjoyed everything about the celebration, which ended with Verdugo raising his arms above his head when he finally reached home plate.
“Big moment there,” Judge said. “He’s been having some great swings and just not getting results as of late. So for him to come up big there, really get a swing off and give us the lead for a moment, I enjoyed it and I think the fans enjoyed it.
“We definitely enjoyed it. I love the guy. He’s a gamer.”
After Verdugo’s group post-game interview with writers wrapped up, NJ Advance Media asked him to guess how long it took him to circle the bases.
“Thirty?” Verdugo guessed.
Told it was a little higher, Verdugo smiled and called out, “Ooooh! Pretty close!”
The average home run trot this season has been 23.60 seconds.
Judge came in under that when hitting his first homer of the season in the fourth inning, a two-run blast that put the Yankees ahead 2-1. His time was 22.7 seconds.
Judge’s guess for Verdugo’s was 24 seconds.
“I was going to say 30, but that’s pretty long,” Judge said.
The Yankees loved the showboating because the homer was a big one and they want Verdugo to be himself.
Verdugo was this way when he played for the Dodgers from 2017-19 and the Red Sox from 2020-24. He says the Yankees told him not to change after trading for him during the Winter Meetings.
“Everybody’s doing a really good job of just welcoming me and just letting me be myself and be the person I am,” Verdugo said. “Everybody seems to gravitate and like what I’m bringing to the table. So for me, I’ve got nothing but praise to say for my teammates, man. They’ve made this transition super easy.”
Verdugo has contributed to the Yankees’ 6-1 start with a game-winning RBI on Opening Day and a lot of fantastic outfield play during the four-game sweep in Houston, but he was just 3-for-21 in his first six games through Tuesday and then started Wednesday 0-for-3.
Adding to the thrill of his first Yankees homer was in came in Arizona. This is his home state and he had a lot of loved ones in the stands.
“My mom, my dad, my brothers, sister, nephews, cousins, mom’s side of the family, uncles, you name it,” Verdugo said.
His pregnant girlfriend and their young child were there, too.
Verdugo enjoyed giving them a thrill before he left town while feeling relieved that he finally delivered a big hit for his new club.
“I’ve been feeling close,” he said. “I’ve had some good at-bats, some just missing the ball and working some counts. And then I’ve had some bad at-bats where I’ve kind of just given them away. To finally go out there and feel a good barrel and help the boys out and really contribute on the offensive side was huge.”
It was huge and entertaining, thanks in part to Verdugo’s celebration.
“Absolutely,” he said. “First one with New York. Big spot like that, it felt good. Just seeing the boys get fired up. Everybody’s barking at me. It was one of those ones that just felt good.”
Verdugo now has something to shoot for the next time he hits a big homer, perhaps slow down a little and break 30.9 seconds.
“I don’t know,” Verdugo said with a laugh. “It’s kind of hard to break that. I kind of stayed and watched it a little bit.”
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com.
"lasting" - Google News
April 04, 2024 at 08:28AM
https://ift.tt/k9JWmOP
Alex Verdugo, Yankees react to his home run celebration lasting 30.9 seconds - NJ.com
"lasting" - Google News
https://ift.tt/qAJ7TsB
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Alex Verdugo, Yankees react to his home run celebration lasting 30.9 seconds - NJ.com"
Post a Comment