You play, and then cover baseball long enough, you think you’ve seen it all. I’ve been in this game a long time.
Hand up, I thought I’d pretty much seen it all …
… Until New York Mets reliever Jefry Yan made his MLB debut Wednesday night. I can promise you, nothing will prepare you for this.
Whatever you’re envisioning in your mind, it won’t come close to what actually transpired on the field.
Jefry Yan of the New York Mets prepares to pitch in the sixth inning during his Major League debut against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Aug. 5, 2026. (Getty Images)
Yan, 29, came on in the sixth inning for the first time since being called up earlier this week. The Dominican then proceeded to strike out the first batter he faced, and celebrated with his signature “jump in the air and then smack the ground” celebration that instantly set the baseball world on fire.
Take a look:
Jefry Yan will be a problem, for multiple reasons
Whoaaaaaaaaa Nellie! I’ve never seen anything like it. Neither have you. Nobody has.
Because, frankly, nobody in their right mind would ever do that in public, much less in an actual Major League Baseball game.
But credit to Yan for not backing down. Some thought he would ditch the celebration when he finally got the call to the bigs, but he stuck with it.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Dance with the partner you came with, right? Be you, no matter how insufferably obnoxious you are.
REDS GET MAJORLY HOSED BY WINNING A CHALLENGE THAT LEADS DIRECTLY TO A GUARDIANS GRAND SLAM
Jefry Yan of the New York Mets celebrates after striking out Angel Martínez of the Cleveland Guardians for his first career strikeout during his major league debut at Progressive Field on Aug. 5, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Getty Images)
Now, this will obviously backfire pretty soon. I don’t know when, exactly, but it will happen, and it will be spectacular.
SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST SPORTS NEWS
Two scenarios:
- Yan strikes someone out and he immediately charges the mound because he’s fed up.
- Yan gives up a bomb and gets mocked to violently, he drops the celebration out of shame.
STAY “FEARLESS” ON THE GO! TAKE TOMI LAHREN WITH YOU. DOWNLOAD THE TLIF PODCAST NOW!
That second one sort of started to happen last night, when Jose Ramirez mocked Yan after the Guardians took the lead:
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
I’d expect that to happen a lot more going forward. Again, at some point, this kid will strike out the wrong person (Willson Contreras), and there will be hell to pay. Trust me, it’s coming.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Until then? The Electric Factory that is Jefry Yan will roll on. And baseball fans will be enamored with every pitch.
