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Thursday’s Hot Clicks: Keith Hernandez Had the Worst Ronald Acuña Take

“You gotta hit him,” Hernandez said. 

Dan Gartland

Thursday’s Hot Clicks: Keith Hernandez Had the Worst Ronald Acuña Take
Thursday’s Hot Clicks: Keith Hernandez Had the Worst Ronald Acuña Take /

Can we stop endangering baseball players for being too good?

Braves rookie superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. didn’t get a chance to extend his three-game streak of leadoff homers because Marlins pitcher Jose Ureña decided to knock him out of the game instead. And he didn’t just plunk him—it was one of the fastest pitches Ureña has thrown this season and his fastest ever first pitch of a game. 

This is maybe the worst thing about baseball. It’s bad enough to hit a guy because you’re mad about how he flipped his bat; it’s so much worse to put him in danger because your team isn’t good enough to get him out. 

It maybe won’t come as a surprise, though, that a guy who played 30 years ago feels differently. 

“They’re killing you. You lost three games. He’s hit three home runs. You gotta hit him,” Keith Hernandez said on the Mets broadcast in Baltimore. “I’m sorry, people aren’t going to like that. You know, you gotta hit him, knock him down. I mean, seriously knock him down if you don’t hit him. You never throw at anybody’s head or neck. You hit him in the back. You hit him in the fanny.”

I’m all for brushing a guy back and making him feel uncomfortable but Ureña sure looks like he was intent on hitting Acuña. The Ureña pitch also shows the flaw in Hernandez’s suggestion that you hit the guy in a place that’s less likely to injure him. The pitch was close to hitting Acuña in the back but ended up hitting him in the elbow, which could have easily broken a bone. 

I thought Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay summed it up with a good analogy: “In basketball, if a guy scores 40 do you punch him in the face?”

A Braves legend had some thoughts, too.

You’ll probably never take this to Dodger Stadium

Elon Musk, the man last seen getting roasted for his blatant PR stunt in Thailand, has found another way to drum up publicity for his transport/flamethrower company.

Musk’s “Boring Company” announced plans last night for a high-speed transit system that would link Dodger Stadium with East Hollywood in about four minutes. Musk previously announced plans for a similar project that would allow people to get to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport in less than 15 minutes. Those both sound great and the company has published detailed plans about how each project would work.

But you know what’s missing from each plan? An estimated completion date, or even an estimated date for construction to begin. So sorry, California will probably be in the ocean before everyone is getting to Dodgers games in this Tron-ass minivan. 

musk.jpeg
The Boring Company

Damarious Randall came through in the clutch, even though the Cavs didn’t

Remember when Browns player Damarious Randall made that bet about buying everyone a jersey if the Cavs won the Finals? Well, the Cavs didn’t win and he’s not giving away a million jerseys but Randall did still give a bunch of Clevelanders free jerseys. 

Randall showed up at a local Boys & Girls Club with boxes full of his own Browns jersey for the kids. He also spent time playing games with the kids and seemed to really enjoy the experience. 

Bits & Pieces

Hue Jackson should be fired if he actually makes Drew Stanton the backup over Baker Mayfield. ... The quarterback starting against Clemson in the season opener could be a Clemson student. ... This preview for the upcoming horror film The Nunwas allegedly too scary for YouTube. ... A forgotten piece of the Berlin wall was just uncovered after 30 years. ... A Scottish man reported missing by his wife was found soon after in the U.S. with his new wife. ... A driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run was arrested after Reddit users identified an obscure car part. ... MVP Baseball, EA Sports’ MLB game, could be making a comeback.

I don’t know why this is so funny

Zion Williamson is no match for Canadian college players

Why would you ever go to Tuscaloosa when you can go to Hawaii?

Look at this badass boat the English invented

Oh god, the embarrassment

Tired woman in London snuggles with complete stranger from r/funny

The audacity!

Turn your pizza into French toast

A good song

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or ping me on Twitter. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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