Dominic Smith just hit a clutch HR against the Yankees despite it all (Video)
By Scott Rogust
The New York Mets first baseman came up big in the clutch on Friday afternoon.
This week has been an eventful one for New York Mets first baseman Dominic Smith.
Earlier this week, Smith was driven to tears during a conference call when speaking about racial injustices and police brutality following the shooting of Jacob Blake. On Thursday evening, Smith was part of a pre-game demonstration with the Miami Marlins, where a “Black Lives Matter” t-shirt was placed on home plate as both squads left the field after opting against playing.
And when it comes to baseball, Smith made another huge impact on the field.
During the first game of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees, the Mets initially found themselves down 4-1, but that all changed in the sixth inning following a game-tying home run by Pete Alonso. The tie didn’t last long, as Smith launched a solo home run off Yankees reliever Chad Green to right field to give the Mets a 5-4 lead.
https://twitter.com/DannyVietti/status/1299469130312032256
How could you not cheer for Dom Smith?
Following the police-involved shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., Smith kneeled during the national anthem to raise awareness for social injustice. When speaking about it postgame, Smith emotionally broke down, saying “being a Black man in America is not easy.”
Prior to Thursday’s game, both the Mets and Marlins agreed to not play their series finale contest. Both teams took the field, where they had a 42-second moment of silence to honor Jackie Robinson before returning to their respective clubhouses.
Entering Friday’s game, Smith was batting .315 with a 1.011 OPS, along with six home runs and 22 RBI. In fact, Smith should have enough games tallied to top the MLB leaderboards in slugging percentage (.733).
Seriously, how can you not cheer for Smith after this game-breaking homer?