Whether you follow the Blue Jays or just wear their logo on your fitted hats and stuff, everyone in Toronto should be proud of our city's latest MLB acquisition.
Yangervis Solarte is everything a sports franchise could ask for and more, especially in the absence of retired former shortstop Munenori Kawasaki, the most charming baseball player of all time (or at least my time.)
In fact, a lot of people have been comparing the two on Twitter lately - many of them going so far as to call Solarte "the new Kawasaki," mostly on account of his dancing.
Pretty sure “Solarte” is Spanish for “Kawasaki” @BlueJays love his enthusiasm pic.twitter.com/K5xBMgoT5V
— Patrick Lahaie (@PLahaie) April 1, 2018
Toronto acquired Solarte earlier this year from the San Diego Padres in exchange for prospects Edward Olivares and Jared Carkuff.
The 30-year-old Venezuelan infielder made his debut with the New York Yankees in 2014. In 2016, he was awarded the Tony Conigliaro Award for his on-field achievements while overcoming personal tragedy after his wife died of cancer at 31.
Solarte, a single father to three young daughters, is already said to be "proving his worth to the Blue Jays" with his versatility and "ability to contribute to the level of a starter on offence."
Come for Pillar stealing home - his third base of the inning! - but stay for Solarte's happy dance of joy. https://t.co/8VoMGN03xH
— Ryan McNutt (@RyanMcNutt) March 31, 2018
Indeed, he played a key role in the Jays' first win of the season on Saturday with a jaw-dropping home run in the eighth inning that secured his team's victory over the Yankees.
It was (and is) his sideline dancing that has Twitter all riled up, though. I mean, look at him. Look at how much fun he is.
Don't worry, guys, we've got that new Solarte GIF coming.
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 3, 2018
In the meantime... it's 3-2 for the home side! pic.twitter.com/C791OAPqvz
"Watching Solarte dance after every home run is everything Blue Jays fans deserve," tweeted one fan yesterday.
"I'm already in love with Solarte's dance moves and energy out on the field," tweeted another "He's already a Blue Jays fan favourite."
Solarte was worth the signing just for the dance gifs alone! #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/zKV9MDunlm
— Andrew Hockridge (@drewhockridge) April 3, 2018
Teammate Marcus Stroman also showed that he's a fan last night by retweeting a Solarte dance GIF with the words "Secccccyyyyy." His tweet was punctuated by a dancing man emoji.
Creeping further back into Solarte's career, one can find evidence that his fellow Padres players loved the dance moves too.
How @Solarte26 likes to stretch before the game. This is why Solie is the best 🕺 @MLBNetwork @Padres pic.twitter.com/4P5LHIxi6T
— Chase d'Arnaud (@chasedarnaud) June 17, 2017
The Blue Jays clearly know what they've got going here in terms of internet juice, as evidenced by all the Solarte GIFs they've been pumping out on Twitter.
RT if the world needs more @Solarte26 GIFs.
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 3, 2018
Also RT if you need more @Solarte26 GIFs. pic.twitter.com/nQyeBGio3U
Welcome to Toronto, Yangervis. You're already a local hero.
by Lauren O'Neil via blogTO
No comments:
Post a Comment