Let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment here. Everyone can talk about “playing the game the right way” and “staying humble”, but every single baseball fan loves having a villain to boo. Every single one of them. For Atlanta Braves fans, that has been guys like Ryan Howard, Bryce Harper, Jose Urena over the years. However, the Mets have become a popular choice lately and one player that Braves fans love to hate is Brandon Nimmo (with Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso also being strong choices).
Nimmo is kind of a perfect player to hate. His approach at the plate is annoying effective between his refusal to swing and his willingness to lean into pitches in order to get hit. Nimmo also sprints to first on walks JUST to tilt opposing pitchers to the annoyance of pretty much everyone. Combine all of that along with playing for the Mets and being a pretty good player and you have the perfect recipe for a despised opponent.
That is exactly how things played out in the Braves’ heartbreaking loss to the Mets in the first game of their doubleheader on Monday. Michael Harris II went back on a fly ball to center and did his best Michael Jordan tongue out impression. Apparently Nimmo took exception to that and when he connected on a two-run homer in the eighth inning, he took his sweet time rounding the bases and stuck his tongue out right back at Harris.
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