Most iconic baseball images / moments of the past decade: Nominations

InstaFace

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A sidenote-to-a-sidenote in the Indians renaming thread deserves some exploration:
If you’re talking post-2000, then [the Blue Jays] have not done much of interest, although I’d argue the Jose Bautista bat flip as the most iconic baseball image of the past decade. (Not sure what number two on that list is.) <...>
Let's answer this question. Now taking nominations for anything 2010-present.

Besides the bat flip, a few obvious ones:

- the David Freese game-tying triple, 2011 WS Game 6
- David Ortiz grand slam / torii hunter wall flip, 2013 ALCS Game 2
- David Ortiz post-bombing speech to Fenway
- the Alex Gordon play with 2 outs in 2014 WS Game 7, where they held him at 3rd
- 2016 WS Game 7 could have a half dozen, but let's nominate Rajai Davis's 2-run HR off Aroldis Chapman to tie it in the 8th

Feel free to re-mention anything already mentioned; I'll have to narrow the list to 10 for the poll, so multiple-nominees will get prioritized.
 

jon abbey

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Bautista bat flip, because it ended literally the most insane inning (top and bottom) I have seen in my entire life.
 

Max Power

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I like Joey Bats and Hunter flipping into the bullpen. This one stands out, too.

Edit: Just noticed it's in the first post. But the picture is always worth reliving.

 

Red(s)HawksFan

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A sidenote-to-a-sidenote in the Indians renaming thread deserves some exploration:


Let's answer this question. Now taking nominations for anything 2010-present.

Besides the bat flip, a few obvious ones:

- the David Freese game-tying triple, 2011 WS Game 6
- David Ortiz grand slam / torii hunter wall flip, 2013 ALCS Game 2
- David Ortiz post-bombing speech to Fenway
- the Alex Gordon play with 2 outs in 2014 WS Game 7, where they held him at 3rd
- 2016 WS Game 7 could have a half dozen, but let's nominate Rajai Davis's 2-run HR off Aroldis Chapman to tie it in the 8th

Feel free to re-mention anything already mentioned; I'll have to narrow the list to 10 for the poll, so multiple-nominees will get prioritized.
Image or moment? I see those as two different things.

When I hear the word image, a still photo is what comes to mind. A single picture that captures a particular moment, but that also stands alone as memorable or interesting even if you don't immediately know the context. I think Bautista's bat flip or Hunter falling into the bullpen qualify in that context. I'm not so sure about Freese or Gordon or Davis, though I could be swayed if I saw a picture.

This....


is as iconic as something like this....



....without need of any context.
 

DJnVa

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This is so hard and it's probably going to devolve into just posting cool pics, but I think the 2018 Sox were a historic team, and the WS cemented it. When we think back to that season and those games, one thing we recall is Benintendi's catch against the Astros. We've all seen it 100 times and there are pics of it (mostly screen grabs), but I always liked this pic-- and it's not of the catch, but of the reactions. I think it's cool, not because it's a pic of an iconic moment, but it's a pic of others SEEING that iconic moment.

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InstaFace

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Image or moment? I see those as two different things.

When I hear the word image, a still photo is what comes to mind. A single picture that captures a particular moment, but that also stands alone as memorable or interesting even if you don't immediately know the context. I think Bautista's bat flip or Hunter falling into the bullpen qualify in that context. I'm not so sure about Freese or Gordon or Davis, though I could be swayed if I saw a picture.
I didn't want to be too prescriptive. Sometimes a still photo doesn't capture the moment. Sometimes a still photo takes an exciting but not historic moment and makes it iconic (literally, provides the icon). This is a list of iconic baseball happenings by a baseball message board, I trust us to pick things that are both dramatic and which mattered.

I think there are worthy nominees for this list that would be more "the image makes the moment" (some rare act of photography), and others more "the moment makes the image" (i.e. just about any image could have done the job, the moment was so exciting / weighty). The 2007 Manny walkoff is more the former; Papi's speech to Fenway more the latter.
 

Yelling At Clouds

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Image or moment? I see those as two different things.

When I hear the word image, a still photo is what comes to mind. A single picture that captures a particular moment, but that also stands alone as memorable or interesting even if you don't immediately know the context. I think Bautista's bat flip or Hunter falling into the bullpen qualify in that context. I'm not so sure about Freese or Gordon or Davis, though I could be swayed if I saw a picture.

This....


is as iconic as something like this....



....without need of any context.
So when I first brought this up, I was thinking literally about the image. I did think of the Hunter/bullpen flip afterwards, but I’d still say Bautista is more iconic for a simple reason: the picture of him flipping his bat is one of a player succeeding; the picture of Hunter falling into the pen is one of a player failing. Yes, David Ortiz has to hit that home run (just as some Texas pitcher threw a meatball), but in that picture of Bautista, even if you know nothing else about baseball, you can probably figure out that this guy did something good. I’m not sure it’s as clear what’s happening in the other picture. Also, I’m not sure that moment is particularly memorable to people who aren’t Red Sox or Tigers fans, while everyone here knew what I meant by “the Bautista bat flip” even though I don’t think any of you identify as Jays fans.
 

jon abbey

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Of course there's also Roughned Odor's belated rebuttal to the bat flip the following season:

 

Bergs

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Of course there's also Roughned Odor's belated rebuttal to the bat flip the following season:

That's a bit of a mischaracterization. Batista got beaned as retaliation, and then came in very hard and late on a slide through 2nd base on a ground out.
 

terrynever

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So when I first brought this up, I was thinking literally about the image. I did think of the Hunter/bullpen flip afterwards, but I’d still say Bautista is more iconic for a simple reason: the picture of him flipping his bat is one of a player succeeding; the picture of Hunter falling into the pen is one of a player failing. Yes, David Ortiz has to hit that home run (just as some Texas pitcher threw a meatball), but in that picture of Bautista, even if you know nothing else about baseball, you can probably figure out that this guy did something good. I’m not sure it’s as clear what’s happening in the other picture. Also, I’m not sure that moment is particularly memorable to people who aren’t Red Sox or Tigers fans, while everyone here knew what I meant by “the Bautista bat flip” even though I don’t think any of you identify as Jays fans.
I thought the Hunter image was about everyone else in the photo. The cop and the fans. Pure jubilation.

Also, I’m a Yankee fan and that was the first image that popped into my head. Says something about the last decade for great Yankee photos. Wonder what that list looks like? Please, no Jeter photos!
 

Kliq

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I thought Bautista got beaned/punched BEFORE the bat flip, and then hit the walk-off home run during that post season. Then we got the memorable Toronto banner "Would rather get punched in May then get knocked-out in October."

Or am I misremembering that?

Edit: I was, he was punched the following season.

Double Edit: The Blue Jays did eliminate the Rangers again that season, which is where we got the banner.

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jon abbey

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I thought Bautista got beaned/punched BEFORE the bat flip, and then hit the walk-off home run during that post season. Then we got the memorable Toronto banner "Would rather get punched in May then get knocked-out in October."

Or am I misremembering that?
I really recommend hunting down that full inning of the ALDS, seriously the craziest inning of baseball I have ever seen. The top of the inning saw the go-ahead run score when the catcher's throw back to the pitcher hit the batter and bounced away, then while the umps and NY tried to figure out what the hell to do about that, the TOR fans went nuts, throwing stuff on the field and generally making asses of themselves. Then in the bottom of the inning, the Rangers made three straight infield errors to start the inning. Here is one breakdown, the full inning lasted 53 minutes (!!!).

https://www.espn.com/mlb/playoffs2015/story/_/page/playoffs15_seventhinningALDSGame5/inside-look-epic-seventh-inning-game-5-texas-rangers-toronto-blue-jays
 

Yelling At Clouds

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I thought the Hunter image was about everyone else in the photo. The cop and the fans. Pure jubilation.

Also, I’m a Yankee fan and that was the first image that popped into my head. Says something about the last decade for great Yankee photos. Wonder what that list looks like? Please, no Jeter photos!
I know you said no Jeter photos, but Pettitte, Rivera, Posada, and Jeter on the mound for a pitching change of the last game of ... one of those guys’ career, you probably remember it better than I do.
 

terrynever

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I know you said no Jeter photos, but Pettitte, Rivera, Posada, and Jeter on the mound for a pitching change of the last game of ... one of those guys’ career, you probably remember it better than I do.
Staged photo. Real photography is action.
 

oumbi

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Really, does anything beat this?

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(Yes, it does not fit with the thread title. But I don't care. This can never, ever be posted enough.)
 

uncannymanny

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I've seen these types before. They're just printed to order on photo paper. Who knows where the source file came from, its resolution, or what the printer quality is. :confused: I could study the one where he's out of focus for hours.
 

DJnVa

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I’ve always wanted this photo print but I can’t find it. Im gonna need home office decorations soon.
Well, I don't think you'll find that EXACT print anywhere else. Look just above the Sox dugout.
 

Kliq

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Every time someone posts this I stare at it like the Zapruder film.
Same. Everyone in it is like the platonic ideal of a NYY fan, each in their own way. Everyone focuses on the guy with the hat, but the big guy behind him who definitely drops an F bomb is a real show-stealer.
 

YTF

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As a still picture this works nicely, at least in Red Sox Nation. Chris Sale was brought to Boston for one reason and for one reason only and that was to win a World Series. Needing three outs in the ninth inning to close out the World Series, Alex Cora decides to go with Sale rather than an unreliable Craig Kimbrel. Sale strikes out the first two batters that he faces and then Manny Machado comes to the plate. Machado has been widely regarded to be an incredibly talented, but immature asshole whose dirty play ended the career of Dustin Pedroia. Sale strikes him out on a huge swing to cement the win and ironically if you take a look you see Machado's body and bat forming the letter K.

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