Ozuna hits homer, snaps 'selfie' on way to 1st
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Bat flips? Pass¨¦. Team dance moves? Been done. Postseason home runs with selfie celebrations? Now that's a new one.
In the bottom of the eighth inning of the Braves' 5-0 win vs. the Reds in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series on Thursday afternoon, Marcell Ozuna came to the plate with Atlanta leading by a run with a runner on first.
When Raisel Iglesias tried to sneak an 0-1 fastball by Ozuna, the Braves slugger crushed it into the left-field seats. Considering that the Reds had set a postseason record for failing to score in 21 consecutive innings (one inning later, they pushed it to 22), it's the kind of dagger that ended Cincinnati's postseason hopes with one swing.
When you hit a home run like that, you know you have to pause and take a selfie -- which is just what Ozuna did as he halted his trot down the first-base line and pantomimed the motion:
Yeah, move over, "Oscars" selfie, because Ozuna just took the greatest one ever -- and he didn't even need a camera to do it.
The move wasn't a surprise to Ozuna's teammates.
"As soon as he hit it, we knew it was gone," Ronald Acu?a Jr. said through an interpreter after Atlanta's series-clinching win. "Going into the series, he had been talking about the celebration he'd do if he hit [a home run]. We celebrated as if it was our own accomplishment. I think that's the cool part about this team. We all celebrate as one."
That was certainly true when Adam Duvall hit another two-run shot later that same inning to build the lead out to 5-0. Though he didn't pause mid-trot to snap his photo, he got it going once he was back in the dugout with the rest of the team.
The closest thing we've ever seen to this move is when Nelson Cruz called time and had Yadier Molina take his actual picture with umpire Joe West. The difference being that this was in the All-Star Game and not during the postseason:
Though unique, Braves manager Brian Snitker wasn't upset by the celebration.
"Nothing surprises me anymore," Snitker said. "That¡¯s the age we¡¯re in. I see the highlights. I see guys strutting around and doing this and that. It doesn¡¯t even faze me anymore. Where we¡¯re at in the game, I better deal with it because it¡¯s not going away."
The reason for the selfies may have also been to take a little revenge on the Reds. When Trevor Bauer was lifted after having thrown 7 2/3 shutout innings in Game 1, he did one of the "tomahawk chops" that Braves fans are known for as he exited the field. That most certainly didn't sit well with Atlanta's players, so when Ozuna went deep to end Cincinnati's season, he made sure to really savor it.