There's a lot of baseball every day. It's part of what makes the sport so great. But we get it, you can't possibly keep up with everything that happens in a week. That's where we come in. Here's a quick refresher on the five most fun moments you may have missed.
1. Jean Segura likes vanilla ice cream
It's the top of the ninth, you're down by one and about to step into the box. Just then, a fan screams, begging to know what your favorite ice cream flavor is. What do you do?
If you're the Phillies' Jean Segura, you respond. His answer: vanilla, natch (it is the best flavor). All he did after that was hit a game-tying double.
The Phillies went on to score five runs in the inning to get the win. Hopefully that means Philadelphia will start celebrating victories with ice cream served up in little helmets.
2. The cat who should be MVP
There's a famous (kind of) baseball movie about a cat who becomes the owner of the Cardinals named, "Rhubarb." If you can track it down, I highly recommend it -- and not simply for an appearance from Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy.
How about a cat who wins the MVP Award? Yankees fans certainly wanted that on Monday night, as a cat sprinted across the field and evaded capture for over four minutes. That earned MVP chants and even attention from the players on the field.
โWe saw [the cat] in the dugout earlier in the game, just chilling there, so we let him be,โย Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins said. "Next thing I know, I heard all the fans cheering. I didnโt know what was going on.โ
Of course, that wasn't the only animal to take the spotlight on Monday. The Nationals' Victor Robles befriended a praying mantis that same night.
3. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Marcus Semien may be dinger-blasting All-Star infielders, but that doesn't mean they can't still have fun when a new reliever enters the game. They teamed up to do a little synchronized warming up with reliever Adam Cimber:
This wasn't a one-time thing, either. Vlad did it again just a few days later, too:
Of course, it's not just Cimber's warmup that's odd. His whole delivery is worth imitating -- though probably not in the middle of an at-bat.
4. Bring us this bullpen cart
A few years ago, the most ridiculous of vehicles -- the bullpen cart -- made its triumphant return to the Majors. The world got to see this ridiculous, baseball-shaped cart putter around the field once again:
At this summer's Olympics in Tokyo, a new style of bullpen car was on display, though. Instead of being shaped like a baseball, this time the pitcher sits inside the glove. This is innovation at its best.
5. Joey Votto is powered by Ted Lasso
Votto recently went on a homer binge, blasting dingers in seven straight games -- falling one short of the Major League record. Turns out, some of that inspiration came from the TV show "Ted Lasso." Lasso follows comedian Jason Sudeikis as a new Premier League coach who knows little about soccer (or football). So, Votto has taken to calling Reds manager David Bell, "Ted," and Bell has responded by calling the veteran first baseman "Roy Kent," after the team's aging midfielder.
Never one to take a slight laying down, Votto responded by taking young superstar Jamie Tartt's goal celebration for his own. We'll let Votto explain for himself: