Having previously written about baseball’s dumbest plays, it seemed only fair to highlight some of its smartest ones.
Here are seven of my favorites.
THE FOURTH OUT. In April 2014, the Braves were on the road against the Mets. With Lucas Duda on first base for the Mets with two outs, Travis d’Arnaud hit a check-swing grounder to the second baseman. Freddie Freeman took the throw at first in a bang-bang play. The umpire called d’Arnaud out, but Freeman quickly fired the ball to third base to nab Duda for the fourth out. Why did Freeman bother? He realized that it would prevent the Mets from challenging the play at first via replay review. A challenge would be moot because, even if successful, Duda would be the third out.
UMPIRES GOT IT WRONG: In July of this year, in a summer collegiate baseball league, Ethan Surowiec of the Duluth Huskies, running to third base in the eighth inning of their contest against the La Crosse Loggers, fielded a ball before it could reach the shortstop. Why? Because the bases were loaded, there was one out, and it was a tailor-made double-play ball. The umpires ruled the play a “fielder’s choice 6,” which allowed for the bases to remain loaded. Surowiec was out. The runner on third base remained, while the runner on first base advanced to second base, and the batter went to first base. However, according to the Baseball Rules Academy, the umpires got the call wrong.
Rule 6.01(a)(6) states that both Surowiec and the batter should have been ruled out. Here’s the rule: “If, in the judgment of the umpire, a baserunner willfully and deliberately interferes with a batted ball or a fielder in the act of fielding a batted ball with the obvious intent to break up a double play, the ball is dead. The umpire shall call the runner out for interference and also call out the batter-runner because of the action of his teammate. In no event may bases be run or runs scored because of such action by a runner.” Okay, so maybe not the smartest play, but it sure fooled the umpires.
STEALING TWO BASES ON ONE PLAY: In Game Four of the 2009 World Series against the Phillies, with two outs and nobody on in the top of the ninth and the game tied 4-4, the Yankees’ Johnny Damon singled. With switch-hitting Mark Teixeira batting left, the Phillies shifted their infield defense so that third baseman Pedro Feliz would be taking the throw at second base if Damon tried to steal. Damon did just that on Brad Lidge’s first pitch. Damon executed a pop-up slide as Feliz took the throw. Damon was called safe, and Feliz’s momentum carried him to the right side of second base. So Damon kept on running, correctly calculating that no one would cover third base. Feliz pursued in vain, and Damon had stolen two bases on one play. The Yankees went on to score three times in that inning to win the game and take a 3-1 Series lead. The Yanks went on to win the Fall Classic in six games.
SLEIGHT OF HAND: In 1991, the Braves and Twins were locked in a scoreless duel in perhaps the greatest seventh game in modern World Series history. In the top of the eighth, Lonnie Smith led off with a single. With Smith running, Terry Pendleton hit a deep drive to left-center that bounced off the wall. Smith should have scored easily, but only made it to third base. Why? He fell for a decoy by Minnesota shortstop Greg Gagne and second baseman Chuck Knoblauch. The two middle infielders pantomimed a double play, Knoblauch pretending to field the ball and flip it to Gagne covering second. Smith, who had not glanced at home plate to track the ball, hesitated just past second base, which prevented him from scoring. Although Smith later claimed the Twins’ infielders did not fool him and he was waiting to make sure the ball wasn’t caught, you can see him looking over at Knoblauch as he headed into second base. In any case, he never scored, nor did the Braves. Minnesota won the game, 1-0, in the tenth inning, on a pinch-hit single by Gene Larkin to take the Series.
DON’T CATCH THE BALL! (Oops! I shouldn’t have done that.) Did you ever hear of a runner scoring on a foul pop to the first baseman? In 2016, Anthony Rizzo was on third base for the Cubs with less than two outs against the Colorado Rockies. Jorge Soler popped the ball up in foul territory between first and home. The pitcher and catcher drifted over toward the ball, which was caught by the first baseman. Rizzo, who had tagged up, recognized that no one was covering the plate and sprinted home, scoring easily.
DON’T CATCH THE BALL! (Great choice!) Rizzo was smart as a first baseman as well. In a May 2019 Cubs-Marlins game, the Marlins’ Rosell Herrera led off the top of the tenth with a single. Attempting to advance Herrera to second base, Joe Berti popped his bunt high up in the air, making for what could have been an easy catch for Rizzo. Rizzo, realizing that Berti had slowed to a trot, let the ball drop, then picked it up, raced to first, and stepped on the bag to get Berti out. All Herrera had to do was remain on first base, and once Rizzo touched the bag, he would have been safe. But Herrera became confused, attempted to advance to second, and was tagged out in a rundown. Double play! The Cubs went on to win the game, 3-2, in 11 innings.
DON’T SLIDE! The latest baserunning strategy can be executed with two outs and runners on first and third, or with the bases loaded and a ground ball to the infield. How? Have the runner on first run standing up into second base and continue past the bag. Why? Because a runner can reach second base faster standing up than sliding. If he beats the throw, he then wanders well past second base. If the runner from third crosses the plate before the infielders can tag out the other runner, the run counts because the force play has been removed.
Brilliant!
