Top 5 Moments of the 2016 MLB Season: Third Quarter

Third time around, you know the drill. Here we go:

5. Tyler Naquin hits a walk-off inside the park home run.

I was going to write this blog yesterday but I’m glad I held off because that was the most exciting finish of the season last night.  The Indians went into the bottom of the ninth inning down by a run, facing Toronto closer Roberto Osuna.  With one out, Jose Ramirez delivered a game-tying solo shot.  Next up, Tyler Naquin:

Cleveland becomes the fourth team this season to reach the 70-win mark. 

4. Brandon Crawford collects seven hits in a single game.

I know I probably sound like a broken record at this point but I truly believe Brandon Crawford is the most underrated player in the entire league.  It just feels like he’s not talked about enough for the amount of talent he has.  On August 8^th, Crawford became the sixth player in MLB history to accomplish the feat, and the first since 1975.  He’s also the first Giant to do so.

3. David Dahl starts his MLB career with a 17-game hit streak.

A lot of people probably haven’t heard about David Dahl since Colorado isn’t exactly a team that gets a lot of the spotlight.  The high-ranking prospect started his career off in very impressive fashion though, and on August 11^th he tied the MLB record of 17 games set back in 1941.  It looks like Colorado is going to fall a bit short of the postseason this year, but if they can gather some pitching upgrades they have the potential to make a run in 2017.

2. The Milwaukee Brewers score in every inning of a game.

(Tom Lynn/Associated Press)

On August 11^th the Brewers defeated the Braves 11-3 by scoring in every inning. This is obviously very impressive on the surface, but its even more impressive when you look at just how rare this feat actually is.  With all the lineups that have come and gone over the years, the 2016 Milwaukee Brewers became just the 19^th team since 1900 to score in every inning of a game.  To put it into a bigger perspective, as Adam McCalvy writes, there have been more perfect games thrown (21) in the last 116 years than teams to score in every inning.

1. Ichiro Suzuki collects his 3000^th MLB hit.

It’s no surprise that Ichiro finds himself on this list back-to-back times.  Before the All Star break he broke Pete Rose’s professional hits record, and on August 7^th he achieved the milestone of 3000 MLB hits.  If there was any speck of doubt at all regarding his Hall of Fame chances, Ichiro has safely put it to rest.  He is a first ballot Hall of Famer in my book, and one of the greatest players I’ve ever watched.