Minnesota Twins Willians Astudillo steps up home run celebration

When it comes to home run celebrations, the MLB and its fans have mixed feelings. But, after seeing the latest one from Minnesota Twins rookie Willians Astudillo on social media, it is clear they are here to stay.

Minnesota Twins rookie Willians Astudillo just took the home-run celebration to an entirely new level during a game in the Venezuelan league.

While the home run was beautiful and majestic on its own, it’s Astudillo who deserves all the love for his multitude of reactions.

If home run celebrations were as epic as Astudillo’s, the perception of baseball would change. Young fans would be able to better connect with their favorite players when they see them celebrate moments like this. Nothing about Astudillo is stuffy, boring, and un-fun. This kid demands attention.

If you haven’t seen the video, here’s your chance, courtesy of Josh Hill of FanSided (be sure to watch the crowd’s reaction):

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Astudillo hit the eighth-inning home run off of Deolis Guerra – who pitched for the Brewers in the regular season. His go-ahead home run helped his Venezuelan team – Caribes de Anzoategui – win the game on Tuesday night. It also gave MLB fans in the US some much-needed baseball highlights.

Astudillo begins his celebration in a subtle, yet powerful way. After he hits the ball, he gets down on one knee, poses, and watches the ball go over the fence. It is reminiscient of Adrian Beltre. Then, Astudillo rounds the bases in a way that makes Yasiel Puig‘s three-run home run off of Eduardo Rodriguez in the 2018 World Series look like a celebration on Xanax.

Astudillo continued the celebration all the way to the dugout.

Astudillo brings true joy to the game. And, the game needs it. Twins fans are in for some fun. They got a glimpse of Astudillo in 29 games in 2018. He hit an astonishing .355/.371/.516 in 93 at-bats. This slash includes three home runs, four doubles, and one triple. He had 21 RBI.

He played every position in 2018 except first base and right field. He caught 131 inning and pitched one inning against the Rays. Unfortunately, the Twins lost that game 19-6 and Astudillo gave up five earned runs – two were home runs. It’s clear that he should stick to hitting home runs, not giving them up.

Celebrations of all types are showing up more frequently in today’s baseball game. Alex Bregman seems to be the master of celebrations in the Astros dugout as he leads the team in poses that appear on social media. With the Bregman Stare and the Bregsled, he’s put his stamp on celebrations.

Other young players are getting in on the fun. Cubs David Bote had his shirt ripped off when he hit his pinch hit grand slam:

It’s hard to forget Francisco Lindor‘s home run celebration in Puerto Rico.

The home run celebration has become so much fun that Sean Doolittle offered a deal to hitters who chose to make baseball fun. It’s great to see a pitcher enjoy the celebration, rather than wanting to throw a bean-ball at a player who celebrated in his previous at-bat. The challenge was also featured in The Washington Post:

Home run celebrations are here to stay, especially as players from Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic continue to put their personal stamps on the game. I was fortunate to attend the 2017 World Baseball Classic in Miami where I got to see the Dominican Republic face the United States. I have never had so much fun at a game that was full of fans from the Dominican Republic celebrating every opportunity that they could. It was an incredibly different experience than the typical MLB game with fans sitting around and clapping calmly when their teams succeed.

Baseball is the greatest game on the planet and players like Bregman, Doolittle, Bote, Lindor, and Astudillo need to keep bringing the fun. The rest of the league will catch on soon.