Grant and Danny
5 Years Ago Yesterday, Juan Soto Had The Hit Heard Around The World
yesterday was the five-year anniversary of Juan Soto's hit her round D.C. and heard around the baseball world that saved Washington's wild card game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Got them a win at Nat's Park that propelled them to the division series against the Dodgers. They would go on to win that in five games to go to the NLCS. They would sweep the Cardinals to get to the World Series and then they'd get up off the mat down three two with a back-to-back road wins in Houston to win the World Series in seven games. Five years ago, October 1st yesterday, Juan Soto with one of the most important swings in the history of D.C. sports. Hearing that call gives you chills. I walked past the center field gate at Nat's Park earlier today. I watched playoff baseball all day yesterday. It was on in the background during our show and then I got home and watched it throughout the evening. I cannot tell you, Danny, how much I miss those vibes. I cannot tell you how badly D.C. needs this Nationals team to be back in the October mix, but I rewatched that video last night, the highlight of the Turner call. I believe it was Ernie Johnson. Ernie Johnson. Yeah. On the call. He's just sort of tagged out and no one in this place cares. Nobody gives a darn. Yeah. Dude. We need it back playoff baseball, the intensity, the pitch by pitch, drama, that feeling in the pit of your gut. And I'll say this to about that clip you just heard. I will stack Nat's Park up in that moment that night, which I think was turned up to 11 more than anything else. The World Series games, the LCS games, the seven run first, like all of it that everyone's throwing their beers and their waters in the air. It was just bedlam. It was a madhouse. I have not seen an environment in baseball playoffs since like that. I will stack that up, Nat's Park in that moment against anything you want to present to me. It was that crazy and that awesome. It's unrecognizable when you watch it compared to me, Daris and Ryan sitting in, you know, in our own row all season long and having our own concession stand. We need it back, please for the love of God learners are you listening, spend a little damn money. Help out your boy, Mike Rizzo. The system is legit. We need playoff baseball back in the nation's capital. So just thinking, thinking back to that, I always hate the, you knew it was different. Type, type things in real time because we'd say that about the caps and it wasn't different until it was same with the nationals was a different until it was, but I will tell you it felt different. Like remember, Michael A. Taylor check swings gets hit on the bottom of the hand to start that rally. And I promise you in 2012 in 2014, 2015, any other year that they made the postseason, the empowered have been like, Nope, that's a swing or no foul ball or no peace out or whatever. But they go, yeah, you got it on the hand. No problem. Ryan's everyone comes up against Josh Hader. Zimmerman wasn't starting at that point. Hader throws a blistering 98 man on our fastball and off the plate. Zimmerman pops it up, no, uh, dunks it in the center field for a base hit, broken bat. Just every little thing kept coming up again and again and again and again in favor of Washington. And the second single that Josh Hader gave up to a left handed hitter that year was Juan Soto ripping a ball to right and a really good defender. It tried to risk him. Sorry about it. You know what I mean? That ball. I know we don't need to re legislate the actual play. That was such a great bounce. I mean, the best bounce ever watching it again last night. It looks like the worst play anyone's ever made in right field, the ball. If I didn't know any better as a grown up, the movie Angels in the outfield was about these like angels that were invisible that would just go out on the field and like kick the ball away from people to help the angels out. That's what it looks like. It looks like all the angel from Angels in the outfield is standing there and just kicks the ball away from Grisham. It hopped so weird. You could hit that ball a thousand more times than it wouldn't do what it did that time. And by the way, I still, you know, the viewer had the press box was clear as they want Soto could have jogged in the third base, but he got confused and he thought that there was a stop sign for it. It wasn't got tagged out, but nobody cared and then Daniel Hudson closes it out in the ninth despite, I think it was Lorenzo Kane hit a single to maybe make the place a little bit nervous for a second, but Hudson closes it out and, you know, the rest of his history. They're going to beat the Dodgers. I mean, to me, I'm the weird one in that that was fun. That was exciting, but I wasn't as overjoyed because that still got them to where they'd been so many times before. To me, that first round playoff series was the one when how we Kendrick hit that ball against the Dodgers to shut those front running late, arriving, sun glass wearing Hollywood zilches up when they all just marched out of that stadium. That's the moment. I was delirious jumping up and down on my buddy's living now. The euphoria for me was right then in there because it was another game where they weren't going to get the big hit where they weren't going to come through. I honestly, all I could think about the whole time was having to deal with you the next day. Unfortunately, I get it because every playoff loss ever, this is what happens. Whoa, it's me. They never get the hit. But you didn't update your foul post capitals, they kept the poison away. I know, but you still didn't think they could get the hit and score the run and they didn't have the balls and this and that and whatever. And he gets that hit and the bounce happens and I just start running around. I was in the little area where there's some tables in that, what is it? It's not the president's club, but whatever that little club is there and there's just this dude running at me and we lock eyes. It's like this magic moment when your lips are close to mine and me and this dude are just hugging and we're jumping up and down, like making weird noises. And I didn't know who he was until after the game when I found out it was Juan Soto. Nice to meet you, Mr. Soto. When Juan Soto and his dad were on the field celebrating and I'm like, that's the guy. I'm like, if he would have kissed me in that moment, not only would I've kissed back, I would have used tongue. Whoa. Like any cramp. Yeah. I was just so happy. Well, sure. So happy. Sure. But anyway, but you have hugged Mr. Soto. That's an important distinction. More than a lot of people. More than me. We need playoff baseball back. That's the point of the dude's story. I agree with you. That a little off the rails though. The point of the dude's story is October baseball in the nation.