Most baseball players dream about making their MLB debut. Hitting the field for your first official game as a professional ballplayer is pretty good, too. That’s what a number of Mets prospects did this week for the start of the Dominican Summer League.
Cristopher Larez, a 17-year-old shortstop the Mets signed to a $1.4 million bonus during the International Free Agency period, got his first taste of pro baseball. And, it was a good one. He marked this momentous occasion in his young life by going 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.
Now, that’s how you make a memorable day even more memorable. Do you know what also helps? The appropriate swag to celebrate afterward. Just by looking at the below picture from Metsmerized’s Mike Mayer, Larez already has major-league levels of drip going on.
Here’s Cristopher Larez celebrating hitting a home run in his pro debut via the DSL Mets. pic.twitter.com/3bW1NEf8zz
— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) June 6, 2023
This is just spectacular. It also seems like the DSL Mets could give the Single-A St. Lucie Mets some pointers on home run celebration props to use in the dugout.
For whatever reason, Larez holding onto his bat in this picture makes it so much better. There was already a certain level of ridiculousness to it that’s tremendous. Holding a bat with everything else he’s got going on here puts the cherry on top.
We can only hope this is the beginning of other cool props and celebrations for the DSL Mets. I’d have to imagine that the WWE-style belt is a “champion of the game” type of thing. If that and the space helmet are related to one another in any kind of way, though, we’re going to need a full explanation, and pronto.
You can reach Matt Musico at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.