Pitchers with great stuff can induce some awkward swings and misses from good hitters. Few, however, will ever be made to look as bad as Odubel Herrera did on Sunday.
Herrera was facing Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Yency Almonte during Sunday’s game, and the Philadelphia Phillies center fielder was even ahead 2-1 in the count with the bases loaded. Almonte uncorked a wicked slider that fooled Herrera so badly, he actually swung and missed even though the pitch went between his legs.
Odubel Herrera chases one just slightly out of the zone… pic.twitter.com/KsK9Uwl5pM
— Casey Drottar (@CDrottar19) May 15, 2022
It looks even worse in slow motion:
Yency Almonte got Odúbel Herrera to swing at a slider between his legs. pic.twitter.com/7VUmB8JyQr
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) May 15, 2022
Herrera wound up grounding out, so at least he ended up making contact.
In the past, Herrera has caused some controversy with his bat-flipping habits. The real way to make him look silly is to do what Almonte did and coax one of the ugliest swings of the season out of him.
