Maikel Franco's walk-off homer was a milestone worth the perfect pose
Throughout Maikel Franco's six years with the Phillies, he has never hesitated to express his emotions on the field. Whether it's excitement, entertainment or even bemusement, he's always shown what he's feeling. His performance might ebb and flow from year to year, but his joie de vivre definitely doesn't.
On Sunday afternoon, Franco stepped to the plate in the ninth inning with a chance to not only win the game for the Phillies, but also accomplish a personal milestone. The day before, he launched a fastball from Patrick Corbin for his 99th career homer. That meant his next one would make him the 25th player to crush 100 dingers in a Phillies uniform.
Evidently, Franco was saving the centennial shot for a special occasion. Matt Grace left a pitch up and Franco unloaded.
You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/U3PCiE2t3D
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 14, 2019
With one swing of the bat, Franco avenged Juan Soto's game-winning blast from Saturday night and put the Phillies in the win column.
There was never a chance that the ball would stay in the yard, and there was also never a chance that Franco was not going to do everything he could to soak in the moment.
He unleashed a bat flip -- more of a bat dismissal -- that Phillies fans will not soon forget.
Much like Franco did when he walked off the Marlins on Aug. 2, 2018, the bat flip also featured an iconic pose.
The disappointment of defeat in Kurt Suzuki's reaction is only magnified by Franco's outright exultation.
That is a man who is loving his life. The fact that the walk-off homer was the 100th of Franco's career was clearly just the cherry on top.
The Phillies were thrilled enough to give him a double water cooler shower, with one splash coming all the way from the dugout.
Keep shining on, Maikel. We can't get enough of it.
Andrew Mearns is a writer for Cut4 whose baseball obsession was born from the shattered dreams of Mike Mussina's perfect game attempt in 2001. He has a startling memory of World Series highlights that barely functions as a party trick.
