Fastball

Fans Troll Pittsburgh Pirates' Jack Suwinski For Looking Directly at Solar Eclipse

Jack Suwinski seemingly looked at the solar eclipse without special glasses on Monday, which led to fans mocking the young Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder online.

Sam Connon

Apr 4, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Jack Suwinski.
Apr 4, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Jack Suwinski. / Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports
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All across the United States, people dropped what they were doing to catch a glimpse of the solar eclipse Monday afternoon, and the baseball world was no exception.

Cleveland was right in the middle of the path of totality, so the Guardians opened the gates to Progressive Field early and allowed fans to watch it from there. About an hour later, the eclipse passed over Pittsburgh, although the city wasn't quite in the path of totality.

Still, the Pittsburgh Pirates were able to bear witness to the rare astrological event as well.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Kevin Gorman shared photos of several Pirates players wearing specialized protective lenses, looking at the eclipse as it passed over PNC Park. Mitch Keller, Andrew McCutchen, Marco Gonzales and Jared Jones all had the glasses on correctly and were able to see the moon pass in front of the sun.

Jack Suwinski, on the other hand, was pictured with the glasses on his forehead. He appeared to be staring right at the eclipse, squinting.

While staring at the sun on a normal day is bad for one's eyesight, it is widely accepted that looking directly at a solar eclipse with the naked eye is even more dangerous.

Of course, Gorman's photo could have captured just a split second when Suwinski was staring at the eclipse without his glasses. After all, he did have the lenses resting on his face.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now's Danny Demillo confirmed as much with the photos he posted of the Pirates watching the eclipse. Suwinski was wearing the glasses on correctly in Demillo's picture.

Still, fans immediately ran with Suwinski's blunder and were quick to mock him on social media.

Many made memes, while others apparently tried to profit off of the situation. In a since-deleted tweet, one sports bettor supposedly wagered $20 on Suwinski striking out in his first plate appearance of Monday night's game between the Pirates and Detroit Tigers.

The bet did not hit, however, as Suwinski drew a five-pitch walk to lead off the bottom of the second.

The 25-year-old center fielder then singled up the middle in the bottom of the third, scoring his second run of the night a few batters later. He is now batting .194 with a .592 OPS in 2024, despite Pittsburgh's torrid 8-2 start to the season.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.

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