José Martínez saluting Wander Suero after his strikeout reminds us all not to take life too seriously

Strikeout rates have increased the last few seasons in baseball, but the common all-or-nothing approach is not the only reason. Pitchers are also throwing harder than ever, and it's becoming incredibly difficult to simply make contact ... even when you're scorching hot.

José Martínez has been terrific for the Cardinals after starting the year in a slump. Entering action on Tuesday, he had a 1.041 OPS in his last 16 games. That's excellent, and his numbers only got better when he got hits in his first two at bats that night against the Nationals.

Suffice it to say, Martínez was feeling pretty good about himself when he faced Nationals reliever Wander Suero in the sixth. It looked like a mismatch since Suero has struggled in 2019 with a 7.50 ERA in 14 games.

Well, given the way the at-bat ended, it was a mismatch, but not the one we expected. Suero looked filthy:

Yikes.

Martínez didn't take it too hard. He was even laughing after the strikeout and saluting Suero for the impressive K.

I love it. It's just a game after all, and the Cardinals ended up winning anyway, 3-2.

If you can't laugh at yourself for your most goofy moments, then you're not truly living life. Isn't that right, José?

Exactly.