Thanksgiving Roundtable: What Cut4 is thankful for
Oh oh oh, it's Thanksgiving, and we at Cut4 have put together a list of a few baseball (and non-baseball) items from the past year for which we're thankful. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us, and tell us what you're thankful for in the comments!
Whitney Holtzman
Crystal the Monkey: For showing me that being a monkey and delivering a ceremonial first pitch are not mutually exclusive. In related news, I'm also thankful that the San Francisco Zoo named their new baby monkey after Sergio Romo. This was really a tremendous year for primates.
Lou Seal: Growing up on the East Coast, this was the first year I really got a chance to watch Lou in action. It didn't take long for me to develop a not-so-secret love for the Giants' mascot. Whether it was a hula skirt for Polynesian Heritage Night or a samurai outfit for Japanese Heritage Night, Seal brought it every single night. Also, shout out to the Phanatic for his stellar performances this year in Riverdance and as Phanatic Spice. I was also really grateful for those.
Military family reunions: Thank you to all the team representatives who arranged for families to be reunited with their loved ones who had been deployed. Those reunions at games were spectacular and certainly always a highlight of the season. Also, deepest gratitude to all of those military families who were a part of those reunions. Thank you for all you do to make sure we are guaranteed freedom.
Brandon and Amanda McCarthy finding each other in life: Separately, they are hilarious. Together, they are the first couple of Twitter.
Twitter and Good Samaritans: After finding B.J. Upton's lost wallet, a Good Samaritan took to Twitter to contact Upton in order to safely return the very important possession to him.
Mascots with expanding families: I was very thankful to hear Hoot and Holly are expanding their family. The mascots for the Orem Owlz (the Angels' rookie affiliate) made the announcement with a life-size pregnancy test during one of their games this season. I look forward to meeting the newest addition to the nest on Opening Day 2013.
The telestrator guy who didn't realize they were still live: Maybe he should double check next time before drawing beards and mustaches all over Alex Cobb's face.
Hale and Hearty at Chelsea Market: We're pretty much family at this point. Thank you to all those at the soup and salad counters who saw me on a daily basis and took me in as one of their own. And for the discounts.
R.A. Dickey's Star Wars-inspired rabbit: Dickey naming his rabbit Luke after the character in Star Wars allowed Dan Wohl to create a photo in which R.A.'s rabbit was holding a lightsaber. The image turned out to be one of the greatest pictures of all time. Yeah, you heard me, Mona Lisa.
The entire MLB.com Social Media team: For making sure I laugh every single day.
Ian Kay
Marlins Park: When the Orioles built Camden Yards to look like an old ballpark, it was cute. When 15 other teams did the same thing, it was boring. Why would you put a club in the outfield? Why wouldn't you put a club in ALL OF THE OUTFIELDS? It's 2012 and society is ready to accept flying dolphins whenever Giancarlo Stanton goes deep.
Mike Trout: You know when you feel like something awesome is about to happen, and then it happens? That was pretty much every Mike Trout at-bat from May through July.
Things I plan to be thankful for in 2013: Billy Hamilton, a Quadruple Crown winner, Great Britain in the WBC final, Martin Scorsese's Frank Sinatra biopic, teleporting.
Andrew LeRay
Mike Trout: His obscene athleticism paired with a perpetual smile that punctuates his ever-so-obvious joy of playing baseball reminded me why I love this game in the first place.
Miguel Cabrera: His effortless power paired with once-in-a-generation skill makes baseball look so easy, and reminded me why I love this game in the first place.
Knuckleballs: Without the knuckleball, we wouldn't have R.A. Dickey. I don't want to live in a world without R.A. Dickey.
Derek Holland's mustache: It's … hypnotizing.
San Francisco Giants fans: In my humble opinion they are the most rabid, loyal, baseball-crazy fanbase in the game.
Vin Scully: When it's late on the East Coast and the Dodgers are the only team still playing, well - that's not such a bad thing.
Things I plan to be thankful for in 2013: The World Series returning north of the border, non-stop Interleague Play, watching Mariano Rivera pitch again, and a full season of Jurickson Profar.
Matt Monagan
Johan's no-no: I thought it would never happen. With the no-hitter and Dickey's Cy Young, I consider 2012 a successful year for the Mets. Win-loss records are pretty overrated.
Manny continuing to be Manny: First pitch he sees in Dominican Winter League, he mashes a homer.
Lil Wayne performing "Take Me Out the Ball Game": We know Weezy can rap, but on this day at AT&T Park, we found out he can also sing … kind of.
Hunter Pence's eyeballs: Piercing, scary and wonderful all at the same time.
"Call Me Maybe": C'mon, you know you like it. Also, seeing Rays rookies dance to it at Fenway was priceless.
Things I plan to be thankful for in 2013: Fighting zombies, the Philly Phanatic just doing what he does, Mariano Rivera coming back, Britney Spears following me on Twitter, seeing Orbit back with the Astros, more clown questions for Bryce Harper.
Arturo Pardavila III
Derek Jeter: Too old. No range. Really? Try 216 hits and one of his best seasons. He's coming off a horrific injury and turning 39 next year, but The Captain is far from done.
Walk-offs: Because who doesn't love pie?
Perfect games: Especially those who inspire a rock god to mimic King Felix..
"Gangnam Style": It was a staple at Giants games, but Seattle mascots enjoyed it too.
Love of the game: This couple will make your heart melt.
Jordan Schwartz
Teddy wins: President Roosevelt busted trusts, spurred the completion of the Panama Canal and helped end the Russo-Japanese War, all while speaking softly and carrying a big stick. But all of those accomplishments pale in comparison to Teddy finally ending his 525-race losing streak, thus allowing us to never again have to care about the President's Race.
Matthew Stein
Terrible slides from backup catchers.
Leaving managers hanging in the dugout.
Dan Wohl
Brightly colored alternate jerseys: The Giants, Marlins and Orioles' orange, the Athletics' yellow and the Mariners' teal were searing our eyeballs all season, and I couldn't be happier. It's almost like the '90s are back!
Watching Matt Cain's perfect game live on TV: It might seem a little silly (it's not like I was there or anything), but I felt privileged to even see it via the PS3 MLB.tv app.
Munenori Kawasaki: His time with the Mariners may have been brief, his impact on the field of play scant, but his contributions to the field of GIFs will endure for years to come.
Teddy winning the Presidents Race: Seriously, I teared up a bit when I first saw this photo.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: My girlfriend and I went for the first time, and now I can't believe all MLB stadiums don't have butterbeer vendors.
That the Athletics still wear white shoes and a patch of an elephant standing on a baseball: Never change, A's. Well, if you get a chance to change to a new stadium, you can change that. But never change from being the quirky weirdos you are.
Jamie Moyer giving it his best shot as an MLB pitcher at age 49: He had a decent amount of fun poked at him because of his age, but can we just step back for a moment to admire what enormous love for the game this guy must have?
Playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for over a year and still loving it: By day you may know me as Dan Wohl, Cut4 writer/Photoshop goof-off, but by night I am Vabbaren Velendas, Dark Elf of Morrowind.
The Giants winning the NLCS in a raging downpour straight out of the climactic fight scene of an anime: This was amazing and due to a confluence of rare events that makes it not very likely to happen again soon.
Things I plan to be thankful for in 2013: The return of Orbit as the Astros' mascot, regularly having a reason to mention the name "Didi Gregorius," Star Trek Into Darkness, a team redesigning their uniforms to include the color pink, proving those foolish Mayan calendar-makers wrong.