The inside of a baseball consists of three layers of wool wrapped around a cork center, about 219 yards of gray and white four-play and three-ply yarn wound so tightly that it resembles a long piece of thread. At times in 2021, it seems that fabric has symbolically unraveled like the sport itself, with all the talk of spin rates, grip substances and how to combat this wave of cheating run amok that has led to historic rates of strikeouts and low batting averages.
Baseball always finds a way to rescue itself, however, and Fernando Tatis Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Shohei Ohtani are providing the antidote to our pitch-grip poison. They are the story of 2021: two sons of former major leaguers and the other a son of an outfielder who topped out in a corporate-sponsored non-professional league in Japan.
Early on Friday night, Ohtani clubbed his 24th home run leading off the game in Tampa, Florida, to tie Guerrero for the major league lead, an absolutely ridiculous blast of 453 feet, the second longest in the big leagues this season. With an exit velocity of 116.1 mph, it was also the second-hardest home run of Ohtani's career. The swing itself is astonishing. The hands held up high next to his helmet, the twist of the front foot, the incredible bat speed and upper-body strength as he whips his torso along with the pitch. It seems he doesn't even get his legs behind into the swing, yet he must because the ball crashed off the catwalk and landed somewhere high above the right-center-field seats. Ohtani offered up a small smile as he ran the bases.
Ohtani's swing is iconic, a combination of Jim Thome's ferocious power and Ichiro's poetic beauty.
A little later, playing in Buffalo, Guerrero regained the lead with his 25th home run, a rather pedestrian blast -- for him -- of 406 feet, flying out to center field. Guerrero's swing exudes raw but controlled power, with that two-handed swing reminiscent of his father's. It was his 19th home run of 400-plus feet, tying him with Ohtani for the most 400-foot home runs.
As he rounded first base, Guerrero pointed out toward where the ball landed. Or maybe he was pointing to the baseball gods. Or maybe was pointing southward toward Tampa, letting Ohtani know he had just hit one.
Then came the nightcap from the West Coast. Tatis hit his 23rd home run in the first inning, his 24th in the second and his 25th in the fourth for his first career three-homer game. His third one came after Arizona pitcher Riley Smith had hit Tommy Pham with a pitch. Padres announcer Don Orsillo could not hold back his enthusiasm. None of us can. "The trifecta for the 'Nando! Two-run shot! Riley Smith hit Pham, and then Fernando hits Riley Smith out of the yard!"
As the ball sailed out of the yard to center field, Tatis stood frozen in his follow-through, his left foot pointed toward the pitcher's mound, his right foot pirouetted behind him. While Ohtani and Guerrero are big and broad, Tatis is all wiry litheness. He is a ballet dancer at bat.
Now Kyle Schwarber has invited himself to the party. Fourth in the majors in the home run standings, Schwarber hit his 22nd -- and his ninth in six games, joining Barry Bonds (2001), Shawn Green (2002) and Josh Hamilton (2012) as the only players with that many in a six-game span. Schwarber has 13 home runs in June, all from the leadoff spot. It was the first time this season all four players homered on the same day.
So, yes, the home run race is on. Guerrero's 25 home runs have come in 74 games (he hasn't missed one), putting him on pace for 55. Dad topped out at 44.
Tatis' pace is a little harder to calculate because he has played only 59 of the Padres' 78 games. That would be a 66-homer pace over 155 games. If he continues at that rate over the Padres' final 84 games and plays all 84 games, we'd get him up to ... 60 home runs. Only five players have reached that hallowed figure: Babe Ruth, Roger Maris and the trio of late '90s and early 2000s sluggers who helped break the sport -- Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
Ohtani's 24 home runs have come in 70 games as a batter (out of the 75 the Angels have played). If he plays 80 of the Angels' final 87 games, we get him up to 52 home runs.
Schwarber? Maybe he's only getting started, thriving in his new spot in the batting. Maybe this home run race goes deep into September and we get three or four players chasing 50. The only seasons with more than two 50-homer hitters: 1998 (McGwire, Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr., Greg Vaughn) and 2001 (Bonds, Sosa, Alex Rodriguez and Luis Gonzalez).
Just two seasons ago, when we saw a record number of home runs hit, the cries were that home runs had become too plentiful, too cheap. Maybe they had. The ball was juiced, those 219 yards of yarn perhaps wound too tight.
I will say this, however: After two months of talking and hearing about Spider Tack, sunscreen, pine tar, rosin, sticky stuff and Pelican Grip Dip, home runs suddenly feel very fun again. So, thank you to Nando and Vladdy Jr. and Shotime, for your wondrous gifts. Keep on mashing.