Astros Closer Ken Giles Literally Punched Himself In The Face After Blowing A Game

YES Network

It takes a special kind of person to be a closer in baseball. Sure, it might be one of the best jobs in the world behind being a bullpen catcher— you basically get paid a bunch of money to fuck around with your fellow relievers during the entire game while waiting for a call that may never come, but if it does, you’re suddenly thrust into one of the most stressful situations an athlete can find themselves in.

Some pitchers are able to handle the stress better than others. For example, Mariano Rivera became the greatest closer of all-time thanks to his impressive ability to stay calm and collected on the mound, but some closers tend to be a bit more emotional. I know this because I grew up a Red Sox fan who witnessed the likes of Rod Beck and Jonathan Papelbon, who tended who wear their emotions on their sleeve.

I can’t say I’m super familiar with Houston Astros closer Ken Giles, but based on his behavior after blowing a game against the Yankees last night, he would feel right at home with the pitchers in that second category.

Giles took to the mound in the ninth inning with the score knotted at zero but managed to make Justin Verlander’s impressive performance a moot point after he gave up a three-run home run to Gary Sanchez in what would ultimately amount in a 4-0 Yankees victory.

Giles was removed from the game and decided to vent in a fairly innovative way: by punching himself in the face.

The Astro capped off his temper tantrum in a more traditional way by grabbing a bat and slamming it into the floor of the dugout. From what I can tell, the Gatorade cooler emerged from the incident unscathed.