Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez has been in a bit of slump lately.
The designated hitter has six hits in his last 25 at-bats with just one home run. When that happens to someone with such a powerful swing, they hardly want to leave the batter’s box. The urge to swing your way out of it is just too strong.
That still doesn’t explain how Earth it’s possible for Alvarez to see four strikes in one plate appearance on Wednesday. And yet the video doesn’t lie.
With Boston Red Sox starter Rich Hill on the bump in the third inning, Alvarez took a curveball for a strike looking, fouled off the next pitch and watched another curveball sail into the zone for another strike. But Alvarez didn’t leave the box, the ump didn’t call him out and Hill just kept on pitching.
Yordan Alvarez got four strikes in an at-bat and simply nobody noticed? pic.twitter.com/w1Rt2HeLeH
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 3, 2022
Granted, baseball has a very long season and it can get plenty mundane—especially for veteran pitchers like Hill who are so locked into their routines. But how is it possible he didn’t even notice he got a strikeout? Usually MLB pitchers know when they’ve punched someone out. Hill doesn’t even flinch.
Anyone who took the under on Hill’s 3.5 strikeout prop Wednesday was certainly pumped about the development, which MLB’s Gameday presentation clearly showed as a K even as the at-bat continued. Hill finished with two official punchouts.
It wasn’t like this game was devoid of strikes, either. Houston starter Jose Urquidy struck out 10 to tie his career-high while no-hitting Boston through six innings in a 6-1 victory.
You can’t fault Alvarez for staying at the plate, however, which means the blame lies solely with Hill, Boston manager Alex Cora and home plate umpire Jim Wolf. In any case, it’s probably not a great sign for MLB when the game is so dull no one recognizes when one of the 27 outs is recorded.
