‘L’il Papi’ becomes a viral hit after jersey-popping, money-counting home run trot

We don't know much about the young ballplayer in the video below. We don't know his name, nor do we know where this video was shot. What we do know is that whoever uploaded this clip to YouTube named it "lilpapi" — and it soon becomes apparent that he's logged a bit of time watching what happens after players like David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez hit home runs.

The fake counting of the money as he lumbers into home is a nice touch, don't you think?

There's already a fair amount of criticism being aimed at this kid as the video has spread around the Internet, but young players are always going to mimic the stars they see on television. Kids from my generation wore their hats backward like Ken Griffey Jr. and tried to make playing center field look as easy as he did. Children in my father's era tried to perfect their Pete Rose stance and insisted on wearing No. 7 for Mickey Mantle.

Now as for the league's adults? That's an entirely different story. Here's hoping they correct L'il Papi's unsportsmanlike behavior before one of the opposing pitchers tries his best imitation of placing one in the kid's ear the next time the two teams play.

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