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Best moments of 2020: The final four begins

Only four plays remain. Which ones will advance to the championship?

National League Division Series Game 2: Los Angeles Dodgers v. San Diego Padres Photo by Kelly Gavin/MLB Photos via Getty Images

It’s that time. We’ve officially made it to the final four in voting. Now, the decisions will truly be harder than they’ve ever been before.

First we will take a look back at the final portion of the Elite 8 and see how the voting turned out. Cody Bellinger’s home run saving catch in the NLDS took down Mookie Betts’ home run saving catch in the NLCS. On TBLA, Bellinger took in 56 percent of the vote. On Twitter, Bellinger took in 57 percent of the vote.

This next matchup was tough, and required me to put my Arizona State knowledge to the test. There were different results on Twitter and on TBLA between Justin Turner’s double play and Bellinger’s home run in Game 7 of the NLCS. Over here on TBLA, Turner’s double play received 59 percent of the vote, where it took in only 36.5 percent of the vote on Twitter.

Alright, so if one play won on each site, how do we determine the voting? Well, here’s what I did. On Twitter, there were 1,149 votes. On TBLA there were 318. To make things simple, I multiplied the TBLA votes times four. Now it wasn’t an even amount, but I did make the TBLA votes a little more valuable. Combining the votes, Bellinger’s home run took in a combined 1,250 votes, with Turner’s double play taking in a combined 1,169 votes. It was a close battle, but Bellinger moves on to the final four.

Speaking of the final four, here’s what it looks like now.


Matchup No. 1

Another spectacular Mookie Betts catch

Imagine seeing this play from Mookie Betts in right field and realizing that it wasn’t even his best play from that SERIES. Well, it’s true. Betts proved to us he’s arguably the best right fielder in all of baseball, as he showcased his talents on a weekly basis. He made this incredible catch in Game 6 of the NLCS. Though he didn’t rob a home run, he did end what could have been a huge inning from the Atlanta Braves.

Will Smith HR off of Will Smith

To me, this was the biggest moment of the entire 2020 season. Trailing in the game, and trailing 3-1 in the series, Will Smith hit this clutch home run in the sixth inning to give the Dodgers the lead.

You know the rest. The Dodgers won the game, they came back and won the series, and they went on to win the World Series. Had Smith not hit this home run in this moment, who knows what would have happened.

Of course, Will Smith hitting it off Will Smith made it that much better.

Poll

What was the better moment?

This poll is closed

  • 22%
    Mookie Betts’ catch
    (74 votes)
  • 77%
    Will Smith HR off Will Smith
    (257 votes)
331 votes total Vote Now

Matchup No. 2

Cody Bellinger go-ahead homer in Game 7 of NLCS

After trailing the NLCS 3-1, the Dodgers rallied and won two in a row to even the series at three games a piece. The previous matchup involved Kiké Hernández hitting the game-tying home run in Game 7. Well, now we have the go-ahead home run from that game, courtesy of Cody Bellinger. This solo shot gave the Dodgers the lead, and ultimately the series victory.

Cody Bellinger robs Fernando Tatis Jr.

Yeah, this one won’t be close. One of the best plays of the Dodgers’ October run, and one of the best plays in Dodgers postseason history. In Game 2 of the NLDS, the Dodgers were hanging on to a one-run lead in the seventh inning. With two outs, Tatis Jr. crushed what looked to be a go-ahead two-run home run. Bellinger had other ideas.

He leaped and robbed what would have been a home run, saving the game for the Dodgers, and possibly the series. Had this been a homer, who knows how the game could have turned out. San Diego could have won, and the series would have been tied at one. Not only was this a game-saving catch by Bellinger, it was a series-saving catch.

Poll

What was the better moment?

This poll is closed

  • 50%
    Cody Bellinger’s home run
    (169 votes)
  • 49%
    Cody Bellinger’s catch
    (168 votes)
337 votes total Vote Now