Christmas in October!
There are few plays more exciting than the game-tying home run that Jhonkensy Noel hit to tie Game 3 of the ALCS with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. It was a game changing event for the Guardians, and visible in the absolute roller coaster of a chart from this game:
Statcast via Baseball Savant
It was a perfect October event in a playoff game that became an instant classic. It also inspired this call from the Spanish language crew in Cleveland that might be my favorite baseball call of all time. You don’t need to speak Spanish to appreciate this:
Spanish call of Jhonkensy Noel’s Game 3 home run is a classic
“Feliz Navidad!”
️@ElalcaldeRafa #GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/1LHZfE9X0Q
— BIGPLAY (@BIGPLAY) October 18, 2024
That’s Rafa Hernández-Brito and former Cleveland infielder Carlos Baerga on the call. I’ve watched a lot of baseball over the years and the spontaneous chorus of “Feliz Navidad” might be my very favorite home run call ever. It’s so pure. Rafa even managed to work Jhonkensy Noel’s name into the tune seamlessly.
The Guardians may need a few more highly improbable events to best the Yankees in the ALCS. They lost Friday’s game to the Yankees to fall behind 3 games to 1 in the series. But that one game was an instant classic and the joy as Rafa burst into “Feliz Navidad” as that no-doubt home run left Noel’s bat made it feel like Christmas in October in Cleveland.