Mark Appel is going to make an impact. It just may be the disastrous kind.

Drafted first overall by the Houston Astros after going 10-4 with a 2.12 ERA and 130 batters in 106 innings on the strength of a plus fastball, a hard slider, and a circle change, Harold Reynolds thinks he could be up next month. Which is crazy talk. But the fact remains, he’s a very good pitcher who shouldn’t need much development and could front the Astros rotation for the next decade. But Appel does have one dirty little secret, one that, had scouts noticed, surely would have pushed him down the draft board.

No, it’s not a secret injury or a drug problem. Rather, it’s how he wears his stirrups. Tell me if you notice anything from this photo I originally saw posted by Mighty Flynn:

(Photo by Don Montague/StanfordPhoto.com)

That’s right, two stirrups slipped behind the back of his feet, up and out over his shoes.

But maybe this was a one time thing. Perhaps Appel’s legs were just too powerful and he propelled himself out of fashion’s greatest gift. Sadly, that’s just not the case.

With PRISM-like precision I scoured the internet, looking for evidence, something to tell me that this was all wrong. That some jealous teammate doctored the photo. But this goes too deep. Judge for yourself:

Kevin Johnson of The Chronicle captured this one:

Matthew Erstad snapped this one:

The Stanford Daily got this one, too:

Larry Goren of Four Seam Sports and the AP snapped this one:

Are you not convinced? Is your head not reeling, your stomach not ill?

I don’t know what Mr. Appel is thinking, maybe he doesn’t know how to wear stirrup socks and no one has taught him that the loops go under his feet. Maybe he thinks it will be the emerging fashion trend, like Ken Griffey Jr wearing his hat backwards.

Or maybe, just maybe, he knows that this small decision will be the very thing that tears apart the delicate fabric of reality. Maybe he knows that it’s just a small piece of nylon fabric that separates our world from one of darkness and chaos. Mark my words, if we let this kind of lackadaisical stirrup sock-wearing continue, our world will be overrun with creatures that even H.P. Lovecraft couldn’t fathom.

So let’s put a stop to this, right now. Because we wouldn’t want anyone to go crazy or anything, right? Heh. Heh heh.

(Original photo via Stanford Athletics)

It’s up to you, Mark. You have the power to save us…or doom us all.

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And speaking of stirrup socks, you have until 12 PM PST to enter to win your very own pair of the official Old Time Family Baseball stirrup. Details here.