San Francisco Giants: Superlative Awards for the 2016 Season
The “WTF Just Happened” Award: Ehire Adrianza
David and Goliath is a pretty common story in sports. There’s always underdogs looking for ways to take down a giant of an opponent. On April 9th, there was a little bit of that as the Giants faced off with the Dodgers.
Perennial Giant killer Clayton Kershaw was on the mound, facing his archrivals. With one out in the fifth inning and the score tied, it became that David versus Goliath moment. The ninth-placed hitter Ehire Adrianza, known for his light bat, stepped in against the best pitcher on the planet. On the first pitch, Adrianza did the unthinkable.
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Kershaw threw a fastball a bit up, but fairly well in on the hands, and Adrianza offered at it. The young infielder turned on it. The ball soared through the April air, trying to figure out if it would stay fair or hook foul. It didn’t hook, staying fair and clanking off the railing in the tunnel just beyond the left-field wall.
That’s right. The infielder that entered with a .212 career average and one career home run took the three-time Cy Young Award winner with a career 2.43 ERA out of the park.
Adrianza now has three career home runs, and they’ve come against Andy Pettitte, Kenta Maeda, and Kershaw. He must be doing something right.