What Had Happened Was

What Had Happened Was: 9/14/16

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    HOUSTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 13: Adrian Beltre #29 of the Texas Rangers receives a handshake from interim third base coach Spike Owen #44 after hitting a home run in the second inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on September 13, 2016 in Houston, Texas. Bob Levey/Getty Images
    By Ryan Cortes Rhiannon Walker

    GAME. BLOUSES.

    There are a few things to unpack from the Texas Rangers’ 3-2 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.

    The Rangers have been the better team, by a lot, all year, and are now ahead of the Astros by a thick 11.5 games in the AL West standings. Back in June, after giving up a game-winning double in the 12th inning to lose the game, 4-3, to the Rangers, Astros reliever Ken Giles proclaimed, “We have more talent than this team does. … We’re going to go out there tomorrow and just put them to the ground.”

    Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre did NOT like this.

    Fast-forward to Tuesday night in the second inning when Beltre arrived at the plate. Bang.

    Never mind that hitting a baseball is one of the single hardest tasks to complete in any sport — this dude crushed a home run while on his knees. And, get this, it was the hardest hit ball the man has punished all season, as ESPN’s David Schoenfield pointed out.

     

    And, no. There is nothing you can do to stop him.

     

    BLESSINGS!

    The reviews are in on the new Color Rush jerseys for Thursday NFL games this season. The verdict? Welp.

    https://twitter.com/KofieYeboah/status/775739577608830976

    https://twitter.com/KofieYeboah/status/775742401096912896

    https://twitter.com/KofieYeboah/status/775745644740968448

    SOCIAL STATUS

    https://twitter.com/_thevickster_/status/775861644475838464

     

    FOR THE CULTURE

     

    On the 20th anniversary of his death, an open letter to 2Pac (in his own words).

    Disney’s Mulan reboot: petition to prevent “whitewashing” of lead actress nears 90,000 goal.

    CenturyLink dropping Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall reiterates the price tag put on black bodies.

    An American Airlines flight attendant wore a Black Lives Matter button. A meltdown ensued.

    The New York Police Department is investigating a hate crime after a Muslim woman was window-shopping on Fifth Avenue had her blouse set on fire.

    TOP THREE TWEETS

    Every morning we’ll hit you here with the best of what we saw on social media the previous night. Why? Why not?

    1. SOMEBODY STOP THAT MAN!

    2. WHAT ARE THOSEEEEEEE?

    3. COME ON, FAM

     

    #ICYMI

    Our friend and colleague, ESPN’s Howard Bryant, wrote a stirring piece surrounding the recent comments of Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones about baseball being a white man’s game:

    Major League Baseball is 8 percent African-American and more than 30 percent Latino, signed in large numbers for pennies on the dollar. Economically, Latino players are treated as far more disposable than Americans or players from the Asian market, and have been treated with second-class attitudes for just as long. Baseball has never been very good at evolution or change. The game has two black managers, no black owners and one black general manager. It has one Latino owner, no Latino managers and one Latino general manager. Only within the past two years has Major League Baseball mandated that clubs hire actual professional translators instead of using the backup shortstop to speak English for Chicago Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman. “It’s all right there,” Red Sox star David Ortiz told me. “The opportunities, they speak for themselves. Compare the number of Latinos with the number of Latino managers, you know what I’m saying? Sometimes I get so frustrated about it. But you can’t wait for anyone to give you something. Sometimes I tell the young guys, ‘Be smart. Save, because there won’t be anything here for you when it’s done. Make as much money as you can in the game, and get your black ass out.'”

     

    PICTURE PERFECT

    Ryan Cortes is a staff writer for The Undefeated. Lemon pepper his wings.

    Rhiannon Walker is an associate editor at The Undefeated. She is a drinker of Sassy Cow Creamery chocolate milk, an owner of an extensive Disney VHS collection, and she might have a heart attack if Frank Ocean doesn't drop his second album.

    This Story Tagged: Texas Rangers MLB What Had Happened Was Adrian Beltre