Adam Duvall, Atlanta Braves. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Adam Duvall has now brought dogs into the Braves vs. Mets rivalry.
Adam Duvall crushed a home run off the head of a cardboard cutout of Jeff McNeil‘s dog.
Willow McNeil is a good girl who only wanted to take in a baseball game next to New York Mets outfielder Michael Conforto‘s dogs in the Citi Field outfield. Too bad the Atlanta Braves outfielder took Steven Matz’s offering over the right field fence and doinked Willow’s poor cutout on the noggin. That was the Braves’ first run of the year, taking an early 1-0 lead.
If you want proof that we are living in the weirdest timeline of all time, this is today’s evidence. The Braves’ first run across the plate in a 60-game COVID-19 shortened season was a result of hitting a home run off the head of a cardboard cutout of a Mets infielder’s dog. These teams don’t like each other. Even though no dogs were harmed in this trot around the bases, this is a rivalry.
Dogs’ names, images and likenesses have come to the forefront in the MLB.
While virtual fans are weird and uncomfortable, the cardboard cutouts fit right into baseball’s strangeness and undeniable quirky core. I mean, we had Chipper “Larry” Jones and his 16-year-old son Shea Jones, who is named after the former Mets’ stadium where the Baseball Hall of Famer dominated, take in the last two games in Flushing. It has been a glorious sight to behold.
While it’s cool to see the Braves finally get on the board this year, it’ll be cooler for McNeil to give us an update on how Willow is doing after her cardboard cutout got hit by a baseball. She probably has no idea what hit her because she’s a dog, but we have to be sure. We cannot wait to hear all about it on Sunday Night Baseball tomorrow evening. This is the news we crave as human beings.
Even if fans can’t be in attendance, why can’t we have real-life dogs hanging out in the bleachers? It’s a great opportunity for the dogs to have a day at the park. They can retrieve baseballs, be dogs and socialize at the greatest dog park of all time. If fans can’t be there, let’s get dogs there to create some truly captivating television. Willow would have gotten out of the way if she was there.
This is how we play fetch these days in COVID-19 MLB baseball. Willow is fine, y’all. don’t worry!