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The top 10 most unexpected highlight in sports, inspired by Javy Baez and Carlos Moncrief

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In the midst of another drudgery-filled Giants loss on Monday night (Loss No. 70!) came a bolt of adrenaline-fueled entertainment, so rare in a season lacking adrenaline, fuel and entertainment.

The burst of energy came twofold: the thrilling (if for the wrong team) chase of an inside-the-park home run, and the unleashing of a bazooka-like outfield arm.

The legs in the chase belonged to Chicago’s Javier Baez; the arm in the hunt belonged to the Giants’ Carlos Moncrief.

As Baez slid headfirst across home plate, inches ahead of Moncrief’s laser from right field, we, the baseball fans, had been treated to a pair of sports’ great pleasures:

The Unexpected Thrill.

We go to games of all sorts, and know we will cheer at some point. Usually, we can guess at why we will cheer: a Steph Curry three-point basket, a Madison Bumgarner strikeout, a Derek Carr touchdown pass. Those things will cause us to stand and whoop; but deep down, on some level, we knew when we entered the building that those things were likely to happen.

What happened with Baez and Moncrief was unexpected. The unexpected heightens our senses, magnifies our experience. It’s why the unscripted theatre of sports allures us so.

So here we go with a Top Ten List of Unexpected Sports Thrills, ranked in ascending order:

No. 10 — “Bicycle Kick” goal in soccer.

Whoa! How can you do that? Here are 10 minutes worth of some epic ones:

No. 9 — A Comeback Finish in Olympic Track and Field.

Yeah, yeah. I know nobody watches track and field. You’re missing out on some good stuff. When a runner comes from behind in the final lap of a big race? Goosebump city, baby. As I was just saying to my good friend Billy Mills at the 1964 Olympics:

No. 8 — A Comeback Finish in Olympic Swimming, Particularly Called by Rowdy Gaines.

Get your earplugs. Rowdy’s on fire, and so is play by play man Dan Hicks. When swimmers chase down swimmers, fun ensues.

No. 7 — A Length-of-the-Court Basket.

Steph Curry has conditioned us to think 40 percent of these should go in. Still, you jump from your seat. Check this kid out from a high school game:

No. 6 — A Game-Turning Pick Six.

You’re watching the opposing offense march down the field. You’re resigned to bad news. And then NaVarro Bowman makes you lose your mind.

Or, if we can make a 6B: A Game Turning “Kick Six”, right P-Con?

No. 5 — A Blocked Punt At A Critical Moment.

How many times in high school did the cheerleaders lamely chant “Block that kick!” And you thought: Yeah, right. That never happens when you need it. Unless you’re Steve Gleason welcoming back the City of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina.

No. 4 — The Outfield Howitzers.

There is no more macho play in baseball than unleashing a long throw from deep reaches to send a hapless baserunner to the dugout in shame.

No. 3 — The Thunderous and Beautifully Executed Alley Oop.

In all of sports, dunking on another player is perhaps the most dominant statement one can make. When it’s at the height of a perfectly lobbed pass, it takes on airs of poetry amid the violence.

No. 2 — The Inside the Park Home Run.

This one is ranked so high in particular for its building drama. The ball kicks away, the feeling surges, you think: will he go all the way . . . . and …. yes! Especially walk-off style. Right, Angel Pagan?

No. 1 — The Hail Mary.

Every pick up football game you ever played as a kid, you tried to do this. But none of you were named Doug Flutie. Mic drop.