Chris Long Breaks Down a Very Important Part of Aaron Judge’s 62nd Home Run

Also in Traina Thoughts: A new 'SI Media Podcast' has dropped; a funny Ben Simmons–Kyrie Irving moment; Gamecocks get appropriate NIL deal; and more.

1. Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run has been covered in great detail for a couple of days. People have argued about whether Judge or Barry Bonds has the “real” single-season home run record. People have analyzed all the television and radio calls. College football fans are still having nightmares about split screens. Many folks are still freaking out about what the guy who caught the ball will do with it.

However, we need to provide you with one last item on Judge’s home run from Tuesday night in Texas that set the American League record, because it’s so good.

This comes courtesy of Green Light Podcast host, SI Media Podcast regular and “Traina Thoughts” favorite Chris Long.

Long offered deep and detailed analysis of something no one else has talked about: all the fans behind home plate who were filming Judge’s at bat.

Long broke down the filming techniques of each fan, gave us insight into what each fan was thinking at the time. And he called out one fan for his terrible effort.

The result is the kind of internet content we love and need. Enjoy.

Cell phones and big sports moments are my favorite pic.twitter.com/yZfcEkx4hx

— chris long (@JOEL9ONE) October 6, 2022

2. “HE CHEATED. AW COME ON, HE TOOK THE STEROIDS FOREVER. HIS HEAD EXPANDED!!!” Like I said, people have been arguing about Judge vs. Bonds for the home run record. Stephen A. Smith and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo had one of their regular blowups on Wednesday’s First Take while discussing/yelling uncontrollably about the topic.

.@stephenasmith and @MadDogUnleashed got heated debating Aaron Judge vs. Barry Bonds 🍿 pic.twitter.com/bcWrm80MoX

— First Take (@FirstTake) October 5, 2022

3. A brand-new SI Media Podcast dropped this morning, and this week’s show features an outstanding conversation with journalist Ariel Helwani.

The longtime MMA reporter, who also covers professional wrestling and boxing, explained how he's carved out a successful sports media career after leaving ESPN, the challenges he faced covering MMA while working at Fox and ESPN, why he ended up leaving ESPN, his tumultuous relationship with Dana White, the art of interviewing WWE superstars, what he tries to get out of interviews and much more.

Following Helwani, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week Sal talks about going viral after declaring that the Mets had the NL East wrapped up in June, I reveal my favorite story of the day and we give out our weekly NFL best bet.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.

You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.

4. This NIL deal just seems to make sense.

5. This video would've been amusing enough if it featured only an errant Ben Simmons shot hitting Kyrie Irving in the face, but Simmons’s reaction takes this to another level.

6. On the final day of the regular season Wednesday, Shohei Ohtani threw five innings of one-run ball, and Mike Trout hit his 40th home run of the season. The Angels, though, lost to the A's, 3–2 and finished the year with a 73–89 record.

So for the last time until next season, I need to trot out one of the more perfect tweets that's ever existed.

every time I see an Angels highlight it's like "Mike Trout hit three homes runs and raised his average to .528 while Shohei Ohtani did something that hasn't been done since 'Tungsten Arm' O'Doyle of the 1921 Akron Groomsmen, as the Tigers defeated the Angels 8-3"

— ℳatt (@matttomic) May 18, 2021

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: In Wednesday’s Traina Thoughts, I told you about ESPN’s Mike Greenberg revealing that he eats EVERYTHING with a knife and fork. In a nice twist of timing, on this date in 1994, a bunch of people started eating Snickers bars with a knife and fork.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.