It may be spring training, but long home runs are always fun to admire.
Daniel Vogelbach did just that when he hit an absolute nuke off defending AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole.
In Cole’s first start of spring training, he faced the Toronto Blue Jays under the lights, and Vogelbach, the fourth batter Cole faced, got the best of him.
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Toronto Blue Jays DH Daniel Vogelbach looks into the stands as he rounds the bases after hitting a home run during a spring training game against the New York Yankees March 1, 2024, at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. (Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
On a 2-1 count, the big lefty tanked one off the New York Yankees ace well beyond the right-field fence, giving the Blue Jays a 2-0 first inning lead. But the Yanks got the last laugh with an 8-4 win.
Vogelbach dropped the bat with some swagger and admired his bomb, walking out of the batter’s box before a nice slow jog.
Vogelbach took his time trotting around the bases, which Cole took personally.
“Yeah, what’s the day? Are we still in February? March 1? Yeah, he enjoyed that homer,” Cole said after his outing.
“I don’t forget a lot of things.”
The 6-foot, 270-pound Vogelbach isn’t exactly fleet of foot. His sprint speed ranked in the bottom 2% of the majors, and only nine players were slower last year than Vogelbach, who’s known as Danny Burgers on social media.
New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole delivers a pitch to the plate during a spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays March 1, 2024, at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. (Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NATIONALS PROSPECT STRETCHERED OFF FIELD AFTER FLIPPING OVER FENCE IN ATTEMPT TO ROB HOME RUN
Yankees manager Aaron Boone added that Cole “seemed to not love it.”
There is no love lost between the Yanks and Blue Jays. Aaron Judge created controversy last season against the Jays when he seemed to peek into his own dugout just before slugging a home run, prompting sign-stealing talk.
The next night, coaches from both sides got into a war of words, including Blue Jays manager John Schneider, who told someone he referred to as “fat boy” to “shut up.”
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has said he’d never play for the Yankees, calling them the “easiest team” to play against in 2022. The Yankees won the division that year on Toronto’s home turf.
The New York Mets’ Daniel Vogelbach celebrates with teammates after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers June 27, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah also called Cole “the biggest cheater” in baseball in 2022, citing his use of sticky substances.
Cole won the Cy Young after the league’s crackdown on sticky stuff, while Manoah was demoted to the minors for a time last year due to his struggles.
The two have exchanged words on the field before, with Manoah challenging Cole to meet him face-to-face on the field.
Vogelbach has yet to play a regular-season game with the Blue Jays, but it seems like he’s been taking notes from some of his new teammates.
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He also spent some time with the Yankees’ in-city rival, the Mets, so he already has a taste of Yankee hatred.
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