Chris Woodward
With the bases loaded, the count 3-0, and the Texas Rangers trailing the San Diego Padres by the score of 10-3 in the eighth inning, Juan Nicasio threw what was essentially a get me over strike. For much of baseball history, no batter would swing at the pitch.
There were and are unwritten rules where you don’t show up your opponent. When the score is this lopsided late in the game, you don’t steal bases, take the extra base, and you certainly don’t swing when up 3-0 in the count. Last night, Fernando Tatis, Jr. swung 3-0 and boy did he connect:
THIS KID IS UNREAL@tatis_jr with a grand slam for the @Padres!! pic.twitter.com/DuL1yk9TRF
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 18, 2020
The swing caused some controversy. Tatis’ manager Jayce Tingler spoke about how he didn’t like it calling it a “learning opportunity.” Seeing that, perhaps it should come as no surprise Tatis apologized for it.
When Rangers manager Chris Woodward addressed the “incident,” he said, “I didn’t like it personally. You’re up by seven in the eighth inning. It’s typically not a good time 3-0. It’s kind of the way we were all raised in the game. But … the norms are being challenged.”
Woodward hit it right on the head. There are going to be people who don’t like it. There’s NOTHING wrong with that. In sports and life, there’s always room for sportsmanship and not showing up the opponent or rubbing it in their face.
On the other hand, baseball is definitively evolving. Players are throwing out the unwritten rule book. There’s definitely merit to it.
Look at it this way, Tatis’ homer helps his case for MVP discussions. It also helps him for a future arbitration cases and salary discussions. Understand the point here. It’s not that one single PA affects it, but rather all of these PA accumulated.
As a Mets fan, we have heard Keith Hernandez comment on several occasions about these purportedly garbage time at-bats. As he’s said, you don’t just give away these at-bats. From his old school perspective, it could be the difference between hitting .300 and reaching 200 hits or falling short.
Almost assuredly, Hernandez would not be a fan of Tatis swinging 3-0. However, even with his old school mindset, you don’t just give away at-bats. That has an impact on your season and career. You’re a professional hitter facing a professional pitcher. You go up there, and you try.
That’s also part of the unwritten rules. The batter isn’t up there to just give up. Another part of the unwritten rules is the Rangers are still going to try and comeback to win that game no matter how unlikely.
That last part is why Tatis swinging is justified. The Rangers didn’t give up. Sure, if it was a position player pitching, we could see swinging 3-0 as beyond the pale. Still, these are Tatis’ numbers and MVP voters and arbitrators aren’t going to tally unwritten rule points to factor into their determinations.
So yes, for a multitude of reasons, Tatis was justified in swinging. By the same token, there’s no problem with the Rangers feeling like they were shown up. That goes double when for over 100 years things like swinging 3-0 just wasn’t done.
That’s why there was no issue with Ian Gibaut relieving Nicasio after the grand slam and throwing one behind Manny Machado:
The Rangers just threw behind a Padres hitter because the previous hitter (Fernando Tatis Jr.) hit a granny on 3-0.
Here's a thought: how about you learn how to not give up 14 runs and not give up 7 RBI to a kid who can barely legally buy a beer. pic.twitter.com/y68zDQW8dS
— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) August 18, 2020
It’s important to note Gibaut did it the right way. He kept the pitch low and towards Machado’s backside. It wasn’t towards the head or hands.
Gibaut went up there, and he stuck up for his teammate. He properly delivered the message to the Padres to knock it off. They found what Tatis did wasn’t acceptable.
Machado understood. He assuredly wasn’t happy, but he didn’t escalate the situation. The umpires did what they needed to do to make sure the situation didn’t escalate from there. Gibaut then did the right thing by moving on and pitching normally to Tatis.
There are going to be many who didn’t like what Gibaut did. To that, there’s still room in this game for having your teammate’s back, and there’s room for delivering messages. Notably, by getting it out of the way, it was addressed and no issues should fester.
Ultimately, we should all be able to admit Tatis did absolutely nothing wrong while also saying Gibaut did nothing wrong. Both can be true, and honestly, baseball is better if we can admit this.
It’s great if we have a sport where talent like Tatis can shine, and we have the ability to have one teammate stick up for another (in the right way). To a certain extent, this is what Woodward was hinting at in his statement. Essentially, he said, I don’t like it, we don’t have to like it, but things are different.
Really, when you break it down, only one person was absolutely in the wrong here – Tingler. He needed to have Tatis’ and Machado’s backs. He needed to say my players compete, and don’t throw at my players. He didn’t, and that’s plain wrong.
Overall, other than Tingler, who embarrassed himself, no one should have a problem with anything that happened. Tatis’ grand slam was great, and the Rangers response was fine. That’s baseball.
The expectation is that with a game changing play, you would expect things to become a little more one-sided, and one team to begin to pull away. As Endy Chavez and Carlos Beltran can tell you, that is not always the case. Last night, there was a myriad of change-changing plays. Here’s a shot at ranking the Top 10:
1. Gurriel’s 3 Run Homer (4th Inning)
Perhaps none of yesterday’s game would be possible if not for Yuli Gurriel‘s three run homer. At that point, the Astros were down 4-1, and their former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel had nothing. While the Astros had already gotten to Clayton Kershaw, it’s still Kershaw. If Kershaw gets Gurriel there, the inning is over, and the game has a much different feel. Instead, Gurriel hit a homer that came out of nowhere and descended us all into madness.
2. Barnes’ Hustle Double (9th Inning)
If you subscribe to the theory home runs are rally killers, Yasiel Puig‘s two run homer in the top of the 9th gave Chris Devenski and the Astros a chance to exhale, get the last out, and win the game. Instead, Austin Barnes stretched what should have been a long single into a one out double. The pressure was back on, and more importantly, the game tying run was in scoring position for Joc Pederson and eventually Chris Taylor, who would deliver to the two out RBI single to tie the game.
3. Taylor Didn’t Go Home (8th Inning)
After Corey Seager hit a one out double off Will Harris to pull the Dodgers to within two runs, Justin Turner hit a deep fly ball to right center. Instead of challenging the arm of Josh Reddick, and pulling the Dodgers within a run, Taylor stayed at third base. The reason was because Minute Maid Park was so loud, he confused third base coach Chris Woodward‘s direction to “Go!” as him saying “No!” Chalk that one up for home field advantage.
4. Altuve Ties It Again (5th Inning)
Narratives exist because things happen. Game 5 was case in point why people say he chokes in the postseason even with his Game 1 peformance. After recording two quick outs, he walked Springer and Alex Bregman back-to-back, and with him at 94 pitchers, Dave Roberts brought in Kenta Maeda, who had been previously unscored upon this postseason. That changed with the Altuve home run, and it really set the table for the complete inability for the respective bullpens to get the job done.
5. Springer Redemption (7th Inning)
The half inning after Springer made an ill fated dive at a sinking liner in center (more on that in a moment), he would lead-off the bottom of the seventh against an exhausted Brandon Morrow, who had nothing. Springer got back the run he effectively gave up by hitting a monster of a game tying home run. That would spark a three run rally giving the Astros an 11-8 lead.
6. Bellinger Unties It (5th Inning)
After Gurriel hit the aforementioned game tying three run homer, Cody Bellinger hit a three run homer off of the struggling Collin McHugh, who had not pitched since the ALDS. At that time, the Dodgers seemed to have reclaimed momentum, and they gave Kershaw back a sizeable lead he should have been able to protect.
7. Bregman Walk-Off (10th Inning)
It may seem strange to have this so low, but that was the type of game it was. Bregman’s two out walk-off single against Kenley Jansen was the capper in a series of back and forth plays that not only gave fans whiplash but also sleep deprivation.
8. Springer Dove and Missed (7th Inning)
Believe it or not, the sixth inning of this game was scoreless as the bullpens began to settle in a bit after a crazy fifth. A Turner lead-off double of new reliever Brad Peacock created some tumult. Turner would then score easily when Bellinger hit a sinking liner to center. Instead of fielding in on a hop and trying to get Turner at home or decoying him, Springer dove . . . and missed. At the time the Astros fell behind 8-7, and they were lucky Bellinger wasn’t able to score on an inside-the-park home run.
9. The “Double Steal” (1st Inning)
At the outset of this game, you honestly believed a pitching matchup of Kershaw and Keuchel would be a pitcher’s duel. In fact, the Dodgers took Game 1 with both pitchers mostly shutting down the opposition save for three homers in the game. With the Dodgers having a 2-0 first inning lead, they were already in the driver’s seat.
Then, Keuchel made the weakest of pickoff attempts, and in what must’ve been a designed play, Logan Forsythe took off for second. As Gurriel threw it wide of second, Kiké Hernandez broke for the plate. With the errant throw and Forsythe getting in just ahead of the tag, it appeared as if the Dodgers had a commanding 3-0 lead in the game en route to a 3-2 series lead heading back to Chavez Ravine.
10. Correa in Just Ahead of the Tag (4th Inning)
Before the Gurriel game tying homer off Kershaw, Carlos Correa would deliver a one out RBI double to get the Astros on the board. On the play, Correa got in just ahead of the throw of Hernandez, and he would keep his foot on the bag. Had he not stayed on, he’s not on base when Gurriel hits the game tying home run.
Overall, these are just 10 moments from an otherwise Helter Skelter type of game. We all may have a different order, and there may be some plays that should have been included that were not. That’s just indicative of what type of game that was and what type of series this is.