Former Seattle Mariners' outfielder Jesse Winker stole the show on Thursday afternoon for a few different reasons.
First, he hit a go-ahead home run as the Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 1-0 on the July 4 holiday.
Second, after doing that, he went viral for wearing an incredibly patriotic jacket around the field at Nationals Park.
Per Cespedes Family BBQ on social media:
Jesse Winker hit a go-ahead homer in the 8th, put this outfit on as a celebration and then never took it off. Happy Fourth.
Jesse Winker hit a go-ahead homer in the 8th, put this outfit on as a celebration and then never took it off. Happy Fourth. pic.twitter.com/pfDQ26oY6n
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) July 4, 2024
The 30-year-old Winker is having a bounceback year in Washington as he's hitting .263 with 10 homers and 39 RBI. He's also posted a .377 on-base percentage and is closer resembling the player who was a former All-Star with the Cincinnati Reds.
Mariners fans never got see either of these sides of Winker in Seattle. He was acquired by the M's in 2022 and hit just .219 with a .344 on-base percentage. He also had only 14 homers and 53 RBI in 136 games. Furthermore, his personality never really got to shine through and there were questions about his personality and relationships with teammates by the end of that season.
Winker was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2023 offseason for infielder Kolten Wong. Wong didn't work out with Seattle, either, and was DFA'd by the Mariners in that season.
The Mariners will be back in action on Friday night when they host the Toronto Blue Jays at 6:40 p.m. PT.