Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez is currently tied for second in the National League with one home run. Gonzalez picked up a win against the New York Mets on Wednesday night, and he helped his own cause by belting a solo homer to deep left-center field in the fifth inning.
The ball bounced back into the ballpark, so Gonzalez wasn’t about to take any chances. He ran as fast as he could around the bases even after the umpire made the home run signal.
“The way I was running, I was like ‘I got a chance,’” he told reporters after the game, per Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. “I was about to slide home.”
One of the announcers gave Gonzalez credit for legging out the homer in case it went to replay and was overturned, but that reasoning doesn’t really make sense. The outfielder gave up because the ump made the home run signal. If it was reviewed and overturned, it would have been called a ground-rule double.
Still, watching Gio book it around the bases like that was worth the price of admission. I’m sure he’ll hear it from his teammates all year.
