Forget pitch clocks. If Major League Baseball is looking to add excitement to the game, it should reach out to this 6-year-old girl, whose signature move is a cartwheel after hitting the ball.
Meet Mattea. The playing style of this little baller from New Jersey is exactly what happens when you fall down a YouTube rabbit hole of Simone Biles highlights right before lacing up your Mike Trout cleats for a T-ball game. Her father, Sal DiGirolamo, posted a video of her slapping a ball off the tee and cartwheeling her way to first base for the biggest flex of all time — and people can't get enough of it.
Not only does she tear the cover off this "pitch" from Pedro Mar-Tee-nez, she flips off her helmet and immediately hits the cleanest cartwheel ever on her way to first base. Meanwhile, every boy infielder is chasing after the ball while she's in safely for a stand-up single. It's clear she's in a league of her own.
Mattea's effortless play has garnered some serious laughs on social media. Popular baseball account Jomboy Media posted it on Twitter, where it's racked up more than a million views. She even made it big time on "Good Morning America" on Wednesday morning:
The comments from her parents' posts are where it gets good.
Someone said "this is the new bat flip," and I can't stop thinking about that. Imagine if Aaron Judge hit a ball 500 feet and then cartwheeled his way to home. Or if Shohei Ohtani struck someone out and backflipped all the way to the dugout. It's so fun.
I hope Mattea keeps rounding the bases the only way she knows how. Maybe one day she'll become the first two-sport star to play gymnastics and baseball.
