Tampa Bay Rays’ standout Junior Caminero is making quite a case for the AL MVP, but fans might remember him for what could be the slowest walk of all time. Maybe this is the true essence of a “walk-off” home run? I’m not entirely sure, but the 23-year-old seemed to nail it.
Caminero hit his second walk-off in five days on Tuesday against the A’s, launching his 41st home run of the season around the right field foul pole to secure a 2-1 victory. This impressive slugger holds a .279 batting average this season, paired with those 41 home runs, 96 RBIs, and nearly a .900 OPS.
For a large part of the season, it seemed like Yordan Álvarez had the AL MVP locked down. The Houston star hasn’t done anything to lose it, really.
Yet, Caminero is right on the heels of that title — and his leisurely home run trot after Tuesday’s hit might have just clinched it.
Seriously, just look at it:
Junior Caminero took forever to finish this trot
Wow. I grew up watching David Ortiz savor his home run trots, but this one might’ve taken the cake. I mean, can you even touch the runner before he reaches home plate? It seemed like everyone was high-fiving him down the first base line.
Back in the day, we were absolutely warned against touching a batter before they crossed home plate. It felt like a cardinal sin.
But it sounds like that’s just a myth — according to the MLB rulebook, at least. A deeper dive revealed there’s no such rule about touching the runner in Major League Baseball, although it’s a bit stricter at the college level.
Rule 5, Section 2 states: “After a home run, no offensive team member, other than the base coaches, shall touch the batter-runner before home plate has been touched.” But, shockingly, there’s no equivalent rule in the MLB. Interesting, right?
Anyway, Caminero’s dinger contributed to the Rays’ 91st win of the season. They’ve already secured a playoff position and are on track to clinch the AL East in the coming days.
Regarding that prolonged trot — social media seemed to be all in favor of it, although some want him to face a fastball in the ribs during the first inning tonight.
Ah, the complexities of fandom.
