Consequences and repercussions often occur after a celebration. Take a wild night of drinking and partying for example. Whether it means waking up naked in the same bed as someone you don't know or waking up in a puddle of your own vomit. Although this story brings a much different circumstance, they can all relate.
Another case of the ridiculous surfaces as L.A. Angels slugger Kendry Morales will likely be out for the rest of the season after his walk-off celebration which ended in the most bizarre of ways. While rounding the bases after hitting his game-winning grand slam and 11th home run of the season against the division rival Seattle Mariners, Morales was seen leaping onto home plate awkwardly and being dog piled by his teammates. But the celebration went from happy to worrisome in a matter of seconds as Morales went from trotting around the field to being carried off of it on a stretcher. Since losing former Angels first baseman Mark Texiera last year to the Yankees in free agency and deciding not to bring back veteran DH Vladamir Guerrero, Morales has become the teams main source on offense.
After positive x-rays revealed a fractured lower left leg, it was learned that the injury would require surgery and keep the Angels' offensive leader sidelined for at least 3-months. With an important player to his team like Morales going down to injury, could we be in store for a different approach on how teams celebrate walk-off victories in the mere future? According to Angels manager Mike Socia, the incident will not only change the way his team celebrates, but also the way every team in the league celebrates. Whether or not that's true, it didn't take long to find out if Socia's Angels were true to their word and made adjustments to their game-winning routines. One day after Morales' freak accident, the Angels had another walk-off win, this time off the bat of second baseman Howie Kendrick and this time much more cautious.
Walk-off celebrations such as Morales' go back to as early as the 1950's when the most memorable walk-off celebration took place when the New York Giants' Robby Thompson hit what went on to be known as 'The Shot Heard Round the World' which sealed the deal and won the team the pennant over the archrival Brooklyn Dodgers. And speaking of the Dodgers, just two nights after Morales' freak accident, the Angels' southern California neighbor and cross-town rivals won in walk-off fashion by a Matt Kemp home run. After rounding third base, Kemp began to tip toe his way to home plate and slowly creeped to the box as if he was mocking Morales and poking fun at the incident while trying to avoid a similar injury. So let this be a lesson learned to all you kiddies out there, always wear protection while celebrating no matter the occasion!
Here's a video of the walk-off celebration/injury and the chaos leading up to it from a fan's point of view:
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