The Atlanta Braves and their fans are not the only ones who will look back at the 2021 Major League Baseball season fondly. The 2021 season was memorable for many reasons including the resurgence of the Houston Astros, the final season of the Cleveland Indians, and the breakout of Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani (which was so stunning, it warranted its own Best Of page: Top Shohei Ohtani Breakdowns of All Time).
This gave Jomboy and the team at Jomboy Media lots to work with, and they did not disappoint. We have compiled the most-viewed breakdowns from this 2021 season below.
The 10th Most Viewed Breakdown
The YouTube video discusses a sequence where the pitcher thinks the runner on second base has his signs and tells him to “shut the F up.” In analyzing the signs being used and the pitches being thrown, the YouTuber concludes that the runner was acting like he knew the signs, causing the pitcher to become flustered and mess up his pitches. The breakdown highlights the complexity and game-like thinking behind every pitch and sign, giving viewers an exclusive and inside look into the experience.
The 9th Most Viewed Breakdown
John Lipka, a baseball umpire, is discussed in this video for his near-perfect game calling balls and strikes. Lipka achieved a 99% overall accuracy and consistency rate in a 2018 college study, with a 100% outside zone accuracy rate and calling 90 out of 90 true balls correctly. Despite his accuracy, good umpires like Lipka are not widely recognized. Players like Josh Donaldson look at umpire reports, and Lipka is well-known for his accuracy in this area. One pitch called a ball but was considered a strike led to a home run for St Louis, but did not alter the outcome of the game. Lipka’s game report card was almost perfect.
The 8th Most Viewed Breakdown
In a breakdown of events leading to a pitcher’s ejection after throwing just one pitch in a game between the Braves and Marlins, the video highlights the controversy surrounding warnings in games and the difficulty of determining whether a pitch was thrown intentionally to hit a batter. The pitcher was ejected after the Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. was hit by a pitch and his manager demanded that the pitcher be ejected due to Acuna having been hit several times before by the Marlins. The Marlins’ manager argued that they did not hit Acuna intentionally, resulting in a back-and-forth with the umpires, including reviewing footage of a previous game where Acuna was nearly hit and brushed off the plate by the pitcher.
The 7th Most Viewed Breakdown
In this video breakdown, the events surrounding Max Scherzer’s sticky substance check are discussed, including the first inning’s uneventful check, Scherzer’s reduced pitch spin rate, and the fourth-inning check of Scherzer’s hair that involved a confrontation with Yankees manager Joe Girardi. Despite multiple checks, Scherzer is never found with a substance, leading to a shouting match between Girardi and the Yankees bench coach, and Girardi’s ejection from the game.
The 6th Most Viewed Breakdown
The breakdown of the video “Benches Clear after Castellanos Flexes over Pitcher, a breakdown” discusses the sequence of events that led to the first bench-clearing of the season. It begins with Castellanos having an intense bat flip in a previous game and subsequently getting hit during the next game. Later, while running towards home plate after a slip and a wild pitch, the pitcher flexes in Castellanos’ face, leading to a confrontation with both teams getting involved. The breakdown also mentions a shoving match that occurred when someone held a player from the opposing team back.
The 5th Most Viewed Breakdown
The video shows a Little League game where Texas West is playing against Louisiana with the winner advancing to the Little League World Series. During the game, the batter cannot believe when the umpire calls an outside fastball strike, which was way off the plate, but the umpire had been calling it both ways. Despite this, Louisiana manages to win and advance to the next round thanks to a great call by the umpire and amazing teamwork by the third baseman who makes a game-saving play. The team celebrates with a dogpile, pouring Gatorade on each other, and jumping over the coach.
The 4th Most Viewed Breakdown
The video analyzes a moment from a Dodgers vs Padres game in which Padres player Fernando Tatis Jr. hits a home run after allegedly peeking at the catcher’s signals. Before the game, Dodgers player Trevor Bauer tweets at Tatis, suggesting that he should ask for the signs rather than peeking. The commentator notes that while some batters do peek, it’s unclear how much of an advantage Tatis gained from it and suggests that he may have been able to read the pitch from the catcher’s movement. Some have accused Tatis of cheating, but the video does not come to a definitive conclusion on the matter.
The 3rd Most Viewed Breakdown
During a Dodgers and Mets game with a tied score of 4-4 in the top of the ninth inning, there was an incident where a person in the stands shone a laser pointer at multiple players. The laser pointer hit Trey Turner in the face as he walked away from the play and also shone on Max Muncy as he was at bat, causing him to point it out to the umpires. However, even though Edwin Diaz struck out Muncy to end the inning, the person using the laser pointer was not caught and the game continued.
The 2nd Most Viewed Breakdown
The video is about a spring training game where Yadier Molina is playing as catcher and facing a young runner who attempts to steal a base twice. Molina almost picks off the runner at first and ultimately throws him out with a powerful throw, making sure to let the runner know who’s in charge. The play is described as a thing of beauty.
The Most Viewed Breakdown of 2021
In a Cardinals-Reds game, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt asked umpires to check the bat of Reds hitter Castellanos after he hit a grand slam due to safety concerns about the bat being cracked. Castellanos’ bat was ultimately deemed legal, and the home run stood, resulting in Shildt’s satisfaction with requesting the check. Shildt emphasizes that hitting a home run with a chipped bat is not significant, but he only wanted to ensure the bat was captured.
