by Tommy Gimler

Usually after a closer saves a game for his team, he and his catcher high five each other with maybe a little pat on the ass or two, and the entire team jogs onto the field to congratulate each other on the victory. Usually.

But it has been anything but a normal season for Cleveland closer Chris Perez, and it got even more ridiculous Sunday afternoon. The Indians’ righty found himself barfing near the pitcher’s mound after saving his team’s 4 to 1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Put down your chicken pot pie and check it out (16-second mark is best):

Yummy.

The best part of the video is how the announcers just keep chatting it up, giving the fans and kids at home the box score like they’re watching fans exit the stadium or the Tribe slapping hands, not a grown man getting down on one knee to projectile vomit.

Perez said that he had a bit of warm water that didn’t sit well with his stomach. Or maybe he just overheated in the St. Louis humid afternoon. Or maybe, just maybe, a wild night out across the river at Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club came back to bite him in the ass.

After all, this isn’t the first time that Perez has gotten sick during/just after a game. In 2011 Cactus League action against the Cubs, Perez was pulled from a game because he wasn’t feeling well. Maybe he just gets the yips when he plays against the National League. Or maybe, like a lot of ballplayers, Chris Perez likes to go out on Saturday nights, get shit-housed, and bring back some strange.

And that is just fine. Hey, the Indians won the game, and Perez recorded his 20th save of the year. And like manager Manny Acta said, “As long as he gets the save, we’re OK with it.” Maybe Acta know that like Mickey Mantle, maybe Chris Perez is at his best when he’s hammered or hung over…