Watch: Phillies Slugger Gets Revenge on Pitcher with Record-Setting Home Run Trot
Philadelphia Phillies slugger Rhys Hoskins got revenge Wednesday, drilling a home run off the same pitcher who threw two pitches at his head the day before.
Hoskins blasted a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning off Mets reliever Jacob Rhame and took his sweet time rounding the bases.
Lovely night for a stroll …
Wouldn’t you say, @rhyshoskins? pic.twitter.com/cNw8i88uey
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 25, 2019
Hoskins enjoyed every second of it — every 34.23 seconds, to be exact.
It was the slowest home run trot of the season in the majors and the slowest pace to touch them all since the MLB started tracking such things in 2015, according to MLB.com.
Was he sending a message to Rhame, who threw at him the game before, with that slow trot?
The night after Jacob Rhame threw two pitchers near the head of Rhys Hoskins, Hoskins hit a home run off Rhame — and executed the slowest home run trot in the Statcast era. https://t.co/UZZqSRFfCv
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) April 25, 2019
“I think to put an exclamation on a win like that when you really needed it, that’s what everyone in here is most excited about,” Hoskins said, reported MLB.com.
“I don’t look at it as a retaliation. I’m trying to put a good at-bat together and move right along like we did the rest of the night. There is a lot being made about this, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to go on and play the baseball game the way you would normally play the baseball game.”
Tuesday, Rhame came on in the top of the 9th of the Mets’ 9-0 win and threw twice at Hoskins’ head. Neither pitch hit Hoskins, but both caused the batter to duck.
“It’s his jog, man. He hit the bomb.”
Jacob Rhame says he doesn’t take issue with the way that Rhys Hoskins jogged around the bases after tonight’s home run. pic.twitter.com/DBwWYQn3NP
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) April 25, 2019
“He got me,” Rhame said after the game. “If I make a better pitch, he doesn’t get to run the bases. It’s his jog, man. he hit the bomb.
“Legend has it the spirit of Rhys Hoskins is still making his trot around the bases of Citi Field.” pic.twitter.com/OgZ2f3yYSw
— PhilsFanInNYC (@PhilsFanInNYC) April 25, 2019
Hoskins has five career home runs at Citi Field since he came up in 2017. That’s tied for the most by any visiting player, according to MLB.com.
“If a ball goes over your head the night before, the best way to get back at the pitcher is by putting the ball in the seats,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said, reported MLB.com.
“So, I thought it was worthy of him having that moment and really taking it all in, soaking it all in. He deserved that.”
The Phillies won the game 6-0. They improved to 13-11, tied with the Mets for first in the NL East.
“A couple of guys kind of said the phrase, ‘Don’t poke the sleeping bear,'” Hoskins said, reported ESPN.
“Seemed to be the last couple innings was a pretty good indication that may have happened.”
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