Yordan Alvarez Had Perfect Joke After Breaking Rays' Scoreboard During BP

The Astros slugger damaged the scoreboard at Tropicana Field after a batting practice home run.
Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez speaks to the media following his club's 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Tuesday, August 14, 2024.
Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez speaks to the media following his club's 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Tuesday, August 14, 2024. / Screengrab Twitter @brianmctaggart

Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez broke the scoreboard at Tropicana Field with a batting practice home run before the club's 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.

There are pictures showing the damage the Astros slugger did to the scoreboard. But, as Alvarez jokingly pointed out to reporters during his postgame media availability, if there was no video taken, how could anyone know it was him who broke the scoreboard?

Alvarez then went on to joke that he would not be footing the bill to the Rays for the damages.

"Nah, you're trying to get me in trouble, you're the one that posted that picture," Alvarez said through his interpreter Jenloy Herrera. "Was there a video showing it was me? I don't know if there was, and I'm not paying that bill."

When asked if he was denying his role in the scoreboard's damage, Alvarez continued to amusingly plead the fifth.

"I don't know, if there's not a video, people are asking for video but if there's no video, I don't know who it was."

One of Alvarez's batting practice home runs collided with the scoreboard and caused it to go dark for a moment, then resulted in a malfunctioning screen. The scoreboard was damaged for the duration of the game, but fans were able to view the game's score and at-bat counts on a smaller scoreboard in center field.

It's not the first time Alvarez has hit a scoreboard during batting practice.

Yordan Alvarez Temporarily Damages Astros' Scoreboard in 2019

During Alvarez's rookie year, he drilled a ball that traveled over 450 feet and dented the lower-right part of the scoreboard, temporarily cutting power from the unit

The Astros had a good sense of humor about it.

It's not surprising that Alvarez can do such damage to scoreboards, given that he ranks 15th in the majors this season in average exit velocity and owns the ninth-hardest hit ball-117 MPH- in the big leagues this year.


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Tim Capurso

TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.