Plenty of praise for Pirates’ Josh Bell’s latest splash landing

Only 9,534 fans saw Josh Bell’s 454-foot bomb of a home run at PNC Park Wednesday night.

Too bad. It was worth seeing.

Big drip, what you call it? ? pic.twitter.com/a3f6x4zbEa

— Pirates (@Pirates) May 23, 2019

That’s just the fifth home run to reach the Allegheny River on the fly.

It’s the second by Bell.

This month.

He soaked another ball against Texas back on May 8.

Um. Holy cow, Josh Bell. 472 ft HR that hit the river on the fly. ? @Frank_Frangie

pic.twitter.com/z9E32h0qbi

— Andrew Gibson (@1010XLAG) May 8, 2019

And the 474-footer to center field against the Reds in April was probably the best of the bunch, even though it didn’t get the splash effect.

Oh my, Josh Bell.

474 ft, straight away over the batter’s eye. #Pirates pic.twitter.com/f153C2kHVF

— Today in MLB (@TodayintheMLB) April 7, 2019

Those who saw Wednesday night’s homer in person were few and far between, yet many seemed to appreciate it on social media.

Let these numbers wash over you.

Josh Bell, yet again.

His 116.2 mph, 454-foot blast into the Allegheny River had the highest exit velocity of any batted ball the Pirates have recorded since @statcast began tracking in 2015. pic.twitter.com/xNFAmM8Fgj

— Andrew Simon (@AndrewSimonMLB) May 23, 2019

Former Pirate Garrett Jones knows how hard it is to reach the river. He did it.

Once. In five years.

And Jones seems a bit jealous that Bell is making this look so routine.

Wow!!! ?? amazing! Did they move the River closer?? Bell making it look tooo easy haha! Fun to watch!!! Mega bat whip throw the zone=Bushes. #twohandfinish #2riverbombs @Pirates @ATTSportsNetPIT

— Garrett Jones (@Garrett_GIJones) May 23, 2019

Bell is the first player to have a splashdown twice. Here’s a look at the others, including Bell’s first effort.

Praise wasn’t limited to the baseball world either.

I just wanna hit QBs like Josh Bell hits baseballs.

— Vince Williams (@VinnyVidiVici98) May 23, 2019

Don’t do that, Vince. You’ll get fined.

In fact, I think Roger Goodell is docking your first paycheck of the year just for sending this tweet.

Unfortunately, the rest of the Pirates didn’t bring their hitting shoes. The Rockies outslugged the Pirates, 9-3.