Toronto – Physics is at the heart of baseball.
Take a quick bullet of Ryan Pepiot 96.9 MPH, add the bat of Alejandro Kirk to 75.1 MPH, and this is equivalent to a 407-foot three-sleeved circuit to give Toronto Blue Jays a 3-1 victory against the Rays of Tampa Bay on Wednesday. Kirk never swung the bat faster and the Blue Jays Catcher said he knew what he was looking for pepiot.
“I was on time on the fast ball, I was looking for this quick ball,” said Kirk by translator Hector Lebron. “He has a good quick ball. He launches this quick ball whatever the count.
“I just wanted to make sure I was on time for this quick ball, and he put this quick ball in the middle.”
The average Kirk bat speed this season is 71.9 MPH, the highest is the highest since the MLB baseball skateful website began to follow the metric. The average Kirk stick has improved. 293 with two strokes on Wednesday, eight points better than his average in 2022 when he made his only appearance in the star match. He has three circuits and 16 points beaten so far this year.
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It is a clear improvement from last year when Kirk struck 0.253, with only five circuits and 54 points produced. Its average bat speed in 2023 and 2024 was 70.1 MPH
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“It is sort of Kirk’s best version when, I think, he is really good, he controls the area and he does a good job,” said Toronto director John Schneider. “He takes truly intentional swings, he strikes the ball stronger than ever, and his bat speed and things like the one you could measure.
“I think it is aware of it is also quite important.”
Wednesday was Kirk’s first game in Blue Jays’ programming since Sunday, when he left Toronto’s 9-1 victory in the third round. Kirk was behind the plate when the backswing of Mariners Slugger Julio Rodriguez caught it over the helmet of its receiver. Kirk, 26, was withdrawn from this game as a precaution in case he was a commissioned by the blow.
“When you are struck by the head like that, you want to make sure you are going well,” said Kirk. “Sunday was good, the day off was good, and I did all my activities yesterday. Everything was normal.
“The doctor, give me the green light and I feel good at the moment.”
Bassitt’s change of rule – The launcher starting from Blue Jays, Chris Bassitt, was overshadowed when he saw Kirk remove the bat from his helmet and had a radical suggestion after Wednesday’s match to prevent more accidents like that.
“I am quite categorical when I say that it should probably be a change of rule where, if the striker does this to a recipient, I think that should be automatically an outing,” said Bassitt. “(Strikers) will quickly change a swing.
“I mean, a bat is a weapon, you cannot be out of control. If you are out of control, you have come out. Return. You can’t have guys struck in the head.”
Bassitt said that he was not part of Rodriguez, but that it was a regular event throughout the major baseball league, especially with strikers who have a hand.
This Canadian press report was published for the first time on May 14, 2025.
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press
