Yankees' Jasson Dominguez smacks own helmet, absurdly knocks himself out of game

The first truly clutch Martian moment of the 2025 season came with a warning - delivered from Yankees rookie Jasson Dominguez to Jasson Dominguez about his own brute strength

With two outs and only Aaron Judge on base in the bottom of the sixth inning against Michael Wacha, the Royals ace's luck started to run out (for what may be the first ever documented time against the Yankees during the regular season. Wacha attempted to finesse around the edges of the plate against both Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe, but narrowly missed, giving way to left-hander Angel Zerpa and his oddly-colored jersey sleeve as he passed 80 pitches.

Zerpa came in and immediate fared no better. He attempted to slow down his first at-bat against Austin Wells while he attempted to find the plate, gesticulating wildly that his PitchCom was malfunctioning. The stall tactic didn't work; Wells walked on four pitches, producing the Yankees' first run of the game.

That left things up to Jasson Dominguez, who ambushed a 1-2 pitch down the left field line and into the corner, clearing the bases. Dominguez needed to call time himself; replays showed that he smacked himself in the back of the head on his helicopter backswing, knocking his helmet loose before he could run the bases.

Yankees' Jasson Dominguez smashes bases-clearing double vs. the Kansas City Royals (as well as his own helmet)

The Martian, spotted blinking on second base, was removed in the top half of the seventh for defensive purposes - or so it seemed. It worked out. Trent Grisham made a spectacular running catch on the second batter of the inning. The real reason the switch was made, though? Aaron Boone confessed in the postgame that Dominguez's backswing had knocked the contacts out of his eyes, somehow. That'll do it.

Dominguez has awoken during the Yankees' latest homestand; this sixth-inning double raised his output to 3-for-3 on the day, and continued a 3-for-9 start in the first three contests at home (he skipped Friday's shoulda-been-a-washout). He also added one sparkling defensive play in Monday's opener against the Royals, followed by two other solid instinctual plays. Clearly, being replaced by Cody Bellinger defensively late in Monday's game didn't sap his confidence.

This is not to say that Dominguez is anywhere close to reaching his full potential yet. It's only to note that the early progress Yankees fans were searching for has finally manifested itself on the field. Somehow, his defensive moments in the sun preceded his offensive spotlight. Not how we drew it up, but we'll certainly take it.

Hopefully, Dominguez can shake off the haze of his own backswing and deliver again in his next at-bat.