The Dodgers batboy’s quick reflexes saved the team’s $700 million investment in a viral video

Lished ⁢by WC.


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Between Major⁣ League Baseball’s incorrect All-Star Game venue ⁤cancellation and the ‍dump of All-Star⁤ Gam unter”>While the baseball world has focused on the ​now-vacant ⁣All-Star Game at Truist Park following the league’s decision to‌ yank the game ‌from Atlanta, a bunch of young boys just wanted to play ball ‍in the Peachtree City Invitational in Georgia.At the school-year-participation level,⁣ the game that had the least amount of dilution per year ⁤com March was a beaut.



⁢ ‌ ‍ ‍ ​ ⁢ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁢ ‍ By Bryan Chai

‍ ‌ Sr. ‍Editor /⁤ Sr. Writer











  • While the baseball ​world has focused on the now-vacant ⁤All-Star Game ⁤at Truist Park following the league’s decision to⁣ yank the‍ game from Atlanta, a⁣ bunch of ‍young boys just wanted ​to‌ play ball in the​ Peachtree City Invitational in Georgia.

    At the ⁤school-year-participation level, the game that had the least amount of dilution per year comes ⁣right before the pre-Olympic season. So starts this season’s ‍most ‍rare and contorted scenario.

    Normally, the Triple-A Rochester Red‌ Wings see their ⁣season open in April, when Rochester makes its ⁣first visits to⁣ Columbus , Louisville and Toledo .

    But this⁤ is ⁣no normal ‍year. The MLB schedule was pushed back because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and many​ minor-league teams have had their ⁣schedules altered as teams were ‍assigned to alternative ‍sites to begin their‍ 2021 seasons in a COVID-19 bubble of sorts.

    The Red Wings are ​one such team,​ and Truist ⁢Field in Atlanta has gone from the opposite of bubble to the epicenter of⁢ political⁣ sports warfare nationwide in a matter ‍of weeks. All for what‌ is⁤ essentially an exhibition​ game in the MLB Midsummer ⁤Classic that⁢ got canceled following‍ political pressure due ‍to⁤ Georgia’s election reform laws.

    Some lawmakers may be against ⁣it, but ‌an overwhelming ⁣majority of MLB fans believe the game should have stuck in‍ Atlanta.

    The Independent Journal Review, which gathered data via a Mixpanel​ survey​ from ‍April 8-9, reported only about 28% of‍ fans believe the Midsummer Classic should have been‍ moved, while a‍ whopping 72%​ of fans said it should not ‍have‍ been moved.

    The⁤ politically polarizing debate boiled​ over to such a degree that ⁢the Triple-A Syracuse Mets announced they nixed a scheduled performance by a Christian band ⁢sponsored by Congressman ⁢John Katko, ‍a Republican who represents the ⁤area in Congress, ‌because⁢ the⁣ MLB rehomed the All-Star ⁣Game⁣ away from Atlanta.

    Politics is now so pervasive in⁢ sports⁣ that ⁢businesses are taking sides in a ⁢partisan issue.⁢ Major League Baseball took a side.​ Syracuse’s⁢ Triple-A team took the same side, although most fans​ surveyed didn’t want the game moved.











    As this ⁢controversy continues to simmer, ⁢one heartwarming story from the Peachtree City⁣ Invitational serves as a reminder that baseball is, above‍ all else, a game meant⁤ to‍ be played and enjoyed by all. And sometimes, it takes a young boy with quick reflexes to remind us of that ‍simple fact.

    At a game between the Bulldogs and the Rangers, a young batboy was doing his ‍job​ dutifully by retrieving a bat after a player’s at-bat. But instead of just tossing the bat back, ⁢this batboy got creative and decided ​to spice things up a bit.

    As​ the player was rounding third and⁢ heading for home, the batboy ⁣quickly positioned himself to‍ act as a base‍ coach, waving the player ⁢on to home plate.

    However, as the ‌player approached, the batboy realized that‌ the runner ahead of him was⁢ about⁤ to ⁣be thrown out at home. Without ​missing ‍a beat, the quick-thinking⁣ batboy pulled back‍ his⁣ arm and made an incredible one-handed ⁣catch of the ball, keeping the ‍runner safe⁣ and securing the win for his team.

    It ⁤was ​a small moment in an otherwise unremarkable⁣ youth game, ⁤but ⁣it serves as a ⁤reminder ‍that⁣ in the midst of all the politics ⁣and controversy surrounding baseball, there‍ are still ‍young boys (and girls) who just want to play the game they love. And for that brief and beautiful​ moment, nothing else mattered but the game ‍of baseball.



In the annals of baseball history, you typically think of larger-than-life figures when it comes to the sport’s most heroic moments.

Take, for instance, the world-famous 1988 World Series walk-off home run from baseball folk hero Kirk Gibson.

The then-Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder was battered, injured and barely able to round the bases (as you’ll soon see), but when his team needed him most, he delivered on the biggest stage:



Well, turns out you don’t need to be a larger-than-life figure, nor on the biggest stage, to deliver when your baseball team needs it most.

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You can be a humble batboy, and still be a massive hero for a franchise as storied as those very same Dodgers.

A clear-cut example of this came during the typically mellow doldrums of June professional baseball.

The Dodgers traveled to face the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, in an otherwise nondescript game.

The much better Dodgers (51-31 going into Friday evening’s games, and the top team in the NL West) beat the woeful White Sox (22-61, and in dead-last place in the AL Central) to the score of 4-0.

Do you like MLB?

The Dodgers opened up their 4-0 lead in the third inning and never looked back.

Much to the thanks of both the Dodgers franchise and its do-it-all superstar Shohei Ohtani, one team batboy also wasn’t looking backwards — because Ohtani could be devastatingly injured otherwise.

First, the viral clip:

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According to X’s metrics, the video has been viewed over six million times since being posted on Thursday — and it’s easy to see why.

According to the Kansas City Star, during the middle of the game, Ohtani’s own teammate, Dodgers outfielder Kike Hernandez fouled off a pitch, which sent the baseball careening towards the Dodgers dugout.

As you can see in the above clip, as soon as most of the Dodgers personnel noticed what was barreling towards the dugout, they all flinched and, no pun intended, tried to get out of Dodge.

But not that batboy, who may as well have been Batman in that moment. Showing lightning-quick, ninja-like reflexes, the young man — bare-handed, no less — caught the rocketing baseball.

That move looks to have very clearly averted disaster because that baseball was heading right towards Ohtani.

And while losing any player to injury is bad for a team, it’s hard to describe Ohtani as just “any player.”

The Japanese prodigy is the rare dual threat, being both a fantastic hitter and a dynamite pitcher.

That double skill set earned the 29-year-old superstar a record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December 2023.

Both of Ohtani’s cherished skills, his health and that $700 million investment were saved on Wednesday, all thanks to the heroics of a humble batboy.

Baseball legends don’t get much cooler than that.


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Tags:
Baseball, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, Pop culture, Sports, Viral, Viral video
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Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics.
Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics. He graduated with a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. He is an avid fan of sports, video games, politics and debate.
Birthplace
Hawaii
Education
Class of 2010 University of Arizona. BEAR DOWN.
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English, Korean
Topics of Expertise
Sports, Entertainment, Science/Tech




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