You won’t believe this play by Javier Baez of the Chicago Cubs today. It is a must-watch for baseball fans, and a should-watch for sports fans. But even if you don't watch sports, I think you'll still find this fun. Definitely weird.
Baez has the nickname "El Mago" -- The Magician, for the unique, ethereal way he makes plays in ways that no one else does. Anyone who questions his nickname has to watch this video. There’s so much to comment on, but I don’t want to give anything away, it's too fun discovering it. I’ll only set up the play. Here's the situation: the Cubs are at bat against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It’s the top of the third inning, two outs, a runner on second base -- and Javy Baez is at the plate. Cubs color analyst Jim DeShaies has good commentary when they get to the replay, noting some valid and funny points, so for now I’ll leave the comments to him because, as I said, I don’t want to give anything away. Okay, now that you've seen the play, here are a few observations on it. But watch the video first before you read this. As remarkable as Baez's play is -- the first baseman Will Craig absolutely screwed up. There are two outs. All he had to do was simply turn around, go back to first base and tag the base. And Baez would be out. In fact, here's the amazing thing: if Craig tagged first base at any time -- even after the runner, Willson Contreras, slid in safe -- then the run would have been negated (in essence, considered a force out), and it wouldn't count. Also, the Pittsburgh second baseman Adam Frazier screwed up, not covering first base, in case Craig threw the ball to him. Again, if he had been the one to get the ball and tag first base before Baez got there, the inning would have been over and the run wouldn't haven't counted, even though Contreras slid in first. In fairness, who would think of covering first base there??! But still, he should have. But above all this, no matter how much the first baseman screwed up -- and he did screw up, big time -- it was the quick-thinking of Baez to try something so weird that it would be confusing and get the first baseman to focus on the wrong thing. And what Baez was trying to do was delay the play long enough for the runner on second base to come around and score. And what's so remarkable about that is -- again -- the runner, Willson Contreras, was on second base!! Who thinks of delaying a play so much, let alone under such strong conditions, to allow his teammate to score, not from third base, but all the way from second??! The list is pretty much "Javy Baez." By the way, it was pretty heads-up of Contreras to recognize what Baez was doing and try to score. And know that he had nothing to lose. If he was tagged out, big deal, Baez was going to be the third out of the inning the moment Pittsburgh realized all that had to do was touch first base and the inning would be over! So, if Contreras had stayed safely on third base, it would have been meaningless. He realized that was no reason not to try to score. Also hilarious in this video is that if you look close enough, you see the first base coach for the Cubs waving Baez to first base. Now, coaches do a lot of things, waving runners along. Whether to try to score, or to take an extra base, or to go back to the previous base, or to hold their position. But I am sure that the Cubs first base coach has never waved a runner to come to first base. After all, that's the whole point of the only place a batter can run. Unless you're Javier Baez. And to top it all, the Cubs not only scored a run with Contreras sliding in, and Baez not only made it to first base...but he ended up on second base! And for a moment, it looked like he almost made it to third. And now standing on second base, Baez himself later scored, as well, on a base hit by Ian Happ, and it was those two runs that gave Cubs the margin they ultimately needed, as they won the game 5-3. El Mago, indeed.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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