Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Look Out Allegheny

On June 2, 2013 in the middle of the Pirates memorable season, a fan favorite cemented himself in Pirates fan's memories for many years to come.

Garrett "G.I." Jones also known as "GFJ" among fans (Garret F*ing Jones) launched a HR in the bottom of the 8th inning to tie the game up 4-4.

It was the power of the HR that fans remember though.


He was the first Pirates player to launch a ball into the Allegheny River ON THE FLY.

It took a decade for a Pirates player to do it and in the years that followed that moonshot blast only two others have accomplished such a feat (Josh Bell and Pedro Alvarez)

Garrett Jones was a favorite of mine while he was with the Pirates along with Ryan Doumit and of course Andrew McCutchen.  This card is the 1/1 Diamond Card Topps produced in their Diamond Card Giveaway promotion in 2011.


6 comments:

  1. The more I see 2011 Topps the more I love the set design.

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  2. I was pumped when the Yankees got him, although he did not perform well in Pinstripes.

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    1. The Yankees wanted him for years. He should have been a perfect fit for that short right field porch. I feel like he never got a proper stretch of playing time though.

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  3. What a swing! I was a big fan of Jonathan Broxton (the Reds pitcher in this clip) when he was with the Dodgers. It seems like I've seen half a dozen clips of him giving up crucial homers just in the past week alone. Rough!

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    1. I was a big fan of the Pirates facing Broxton. They roughed him up to the tune of a 5.47ERA over his career. They were one of the few teams that always seemed to have his number.

      He finished his career with an ERA of 3.41. Were it not for the Pirates he would have had an ERA of 3.23.

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  4. Wow. That was some home run. Surprised nobody dove in to grab that home run ball.

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