I absolutely love this aspect of the game. When I played in high school, I was a decent player but not anything close to great. But I could run really fast and I just loved trying stuff like this. You could pull off plays like this all the time against inexperienced players. It was the pre-internet era so players didn't even have access to educational video like this one. My favorite was the two base sac bunt. If I was on first and the batter was bunting (we actually did that nonsense all the time back then), I would just try to take third on the play. Most of the time the infield play was loose and by the time they realized what you were doing it was way too late. Either the throw to first would be lax or the first baseman would be caught off guard and not ready to continue the play. If the third baseman fielded the bunt and you didn't slow down at all, there was often no one even covering third in time. Fun stuff.
I had speed too as a kid and I was always looking for ways to use it. My favorite was as a 15 year old, I was on 2nd and the batter popped one up to the backstop. I slow walked back to the base. The catcher caught it with his back to the infield, so I immediately took off for 3rd. I slid in safely and coach was pumped. He said "I was hoping you'd do that."
i was NEVER fast but loved doing stuff like this. My favorite ever was striking out with a man on first with the runner going to steal on a pitch in the dirt. I knew I was out but I ran to first anyway bc a lot of people don't know the rule about a drop third strike with less than 2 outs and first base occupied. The catcher threw to first and made a bad throw. The runner stealing ran to third and I got in a rundown between first and second knowing full well I was out and he was able to score.
First time here, but thx to this thread for saving me from creating my own lol: I had some 20 year old books talking about the nuances of the game & played them to my fullest (D-1 ride for 1 year, turns out you need to be actually GOOD to play D-1 baseball & I wasn’t a good fit for that equation lol) for years & years. Q to you all: did you guys ever run the “get picked off” play from 1st with a runner on 3rd? Can’t tell you how many times we bought a free 90’ of real estate by simply falling down between 1 & 2 lol. 🤷♂️
@soarabove337 Yes. I had to run that once in Babe Ruth league as the runner on 1st. Coach called it the "bozo play". The play was on when coach yelled "take your lead, you bozo!" Run scored and I made it to 2nd.
My son gave it up long ago… which basically means now I gotta explain to him “small ball” & “free real estate” in a baseball sense. (It’s ok: I had to give up the glove long ago & just do business things now… so it’s a good segueway lol.) Edit: meant to actually address the op point of coaching philosophy bc spot-on! There’s lots of fundamentals of baseball that need to be coached, but this level of mentality has simply got to be learned, as it were. None of us are EDLC-speed, but to see him use his noggin like he were us doing LL things on the MLB level (steal 2, 3, then home on the same batter) is bc of good coaching practices at some point in his life. So op is right.
This play reminded me of White Sox catcher AJ Pierzynski "stealing" first on a "dropped" third strike in Game Two of the 2005 ALCS. With the game tied, 1-1, in the bottom of the ninth and with two outs, Pierzynski struck out, seemingly ending the Sox' at-bat and sending the game to extra innings. As soon as Anaheim Angels catcher Josh Paul caught the pitch, he rolled it out to the mound and headed for the dugout; so did everyone else - except Pierzynski. He noticed that home plate umpire Doug Eddings had not signaled "strike three," so he took off for first base and was called safe. The Angels protested, but the safe call stood. Given new life, the Sox replaced the slow-footed Pierzynski with speedy Pablo Ozuna, who stole second. Then, Joe Crede hit a double to score Ozuna with the winning run to tie the series at 1-1. The Sox then won the next three games to advance to the World Series, where they swept the Houston Astros to win their first World Championship in 88 years.
My baseball coach taught the outfielders to run the ball in if they were close to the infield and then call for time. Guess it was to prevent plays like this from happening.
We got coached hard against this type of play. As soon as the first baseman confirmed the runner coming back to his base he moved to the cutoff position. The Throw ALWAYS went to him, and you NEVER lobbed the ball. Drill after Drill to drive this home. The other defense was that the outfielder just ran the ball in driving the runner on 3rd back to the bag. Short fly to left worked pretty much the same way, but first priority in that instance was the outfielder running the ball in. Since he was facing both runners, he could keep an eye on them versus the 3rd baseman having his back to the runner on 1st.
It’s a simple defense, right? I mean, it’s *so simple* lol. As a SS, I hated when the OFs chucked it in waaaay past me as cutoff. Then again, they went on to minor league baseball & I didn’t make it past Frosh year @ college. 🤦♂️ Very few are ever going to have Elly De La Cruz levels of speed… and so this play is an archetype of “taking it for granted”.
Love this play, ive wondered often about similar scenarios on plays where the fielder is sleep walking. Props to Illinois for actually trying this, great find Matt! Stuff like this is why I love this channell.
I love these heads up plays & the designed heads up plays especially, because they don’t happen often. It’s like the stars align . In my younger days At Huntington Beach HS Mark Cresse was an assistant coach for us. That year he got hired by the Dodgers as a bullpen catcher & he brought some Dodgers to our school for work with us. He brought Andy Messersmith & Davey Lopes. I wasn’t a pitcher so i wasn’t involved with Andy’s clinic but Davey Lopes taught me more in one afternoon than I have yet to learn especially about baserunning . One of the things he taught me was when you got picked at first base take a couple of quick steps toward second & return to first base diving headfirst. It worked for me every time except once when ironically I was playing against a bad first baseman , as he was so unaggressive that he hadn’t thrown the ball before I turned back to first. But usually the first baseman would see you running & throw the ball quickly allowing you to go back to first unimpeded. Now I took that play and made a variation for a squeeze play . Like I say the stars must be aligned for it to happen the situation has to have the right elements & it only happened once in a game that I witnessed ironically it happened when I wasn’t coaching I was just watching my daughter play. She was on third & the squeeze play went awry as the batter didn’t make contact , so she put on the brakes & heading back toward third , this team had an aggressive catcher who threw the ball immediately, then she reversed herself & ran to home plate before the third baseman even made a throw. Now I don’t know if this play has a chance in baseball as the difference between 90’ & 60’ basepaths but it’s worth a test.
I most certainly HAVE heard of this before. This play was a favorite of the great Ty Cobb. He'd wait for the lob throw back in to run home if on third or for the catcher to lob it back to the pitcher to steal home or second.
And even MLB sees this every year. Reds EDLC is the closest, most recent I can recall (stole 2d, 3d, then home on lazy tosses; that he did it all on the same AB is just mind-blowing lol). The opportunity presents itself, even in the professional game. Alas…..
Throw goes home on this play…every time. Hit the cutoff man. F3 is in proper position near the mound. Get him the ball, and then the fielders are properly positioned to deal with either runner.
I mean, it’s really this simple, right? Make the catch & hit cutoff to seal 3d is all you’re saying? Then you’re right. Alas, the 3B runner was playing chess whilst the D was playing checkers lol.
I've seen a LL play where the catcher ALWAYS threw back to the pitcher hard. It lulled the runner on 2nd. Once R2 didn't get back to the base quick enough, the catcher fires to 2nd for the easy out.
The right fielder did not flip the ball to the second baseman. He lobbed it over the second baseman's head to the shortstop. Had he actually flipped it to the second baseman, there may have been time for the second baseman to whirl around and throw to home.
He should’ve thrown to the 1B who was in the cutoff spot and then the catcher would’ve told him to cut or let it go based on what the guys at first and third were doing.
@@HoerigStrength The first baseman initially went to the cutoff spot, but retreated to first base when the runner retreated to first base (to tag up on the catch). So, he wasn't in position to accept the cutoff. Since the right fielder caught the ball so shallow and the play was in front of him, he should have just charged the infield with the ball to freeze the runners, or throw home if the runner at third base broke home.
Played Mens Athletic Baseball League (MABL) for 20 years. Sometimes the first round of the playoffs were single elimination as was the case in this game. 2 outs bottom of the 9th, down a run. Our third baseman hits a slow roller to first, first baseman waiting in front of the bag to apply the game winning tag. Runner slows down and walks up like he is going to give himself up, drops to the ground and lunges for the bag. Safe!!!. Pitcher upset throws the ball away on a pickoff attempt the next play, runner first to third (because the right fielder was not backing up the pick off attempt, something I always did in right field.) The right fielder's throw gets by the third baseman, runner scores. Lol😊. That pitcher threw 17 innings. They scored 3 in the 14th we tied it in the bottom half. And we finally won it in the 17th inning with a walk and a couple singles. We ended up winning the best of 3 championship series as well that season. But, yeah I never let up on any play ever. Fence crashing, backing up balls being thrown around the infield, like Charlie Hustle on defense. Used to play with a professional attitude at all times. Was always proud to hold a runner to 90' or no extra bases. Used to tell our pitchers to just throw strikes and let your defense do their job. No walks is what I like to say. Make em string a bunch of hits. Anyways, 4 time champion trophies on the fireplace mantel. Retired and moved on to other stuff. But those trophies are just confidence building for anything else I pursue in life.
Also we tied the game in Bottom of the 14th on a high IQ play. After coach hit a bases loaded double to score 2, Shortstop struck out. I came up with the tying and winning run on second and third with 1 out. Switch hitter batting left I tried to slash one to left but pop it up in the triangle, Shortstop made a heck of a diving play going back. But our pitcher made a extremely good decision and tagged up, Shortstop caught a little of guard, popped up and made a strong throw to the plate. Was a bang bang one hopper home plate dive. I went from deflation to jumping for joy. That was a miracle victory for sure. Almost seemed like destiny.
I don’t think so , I bet it’s a play they work on & it worked . The stars aligned with a heads-up baserunner meeting a lazy outfielder. Or it could be that Tennessee was generally known as being lazy in their throwbacks to the infield & it all came together.
Idk & you both could be right or wrong. 🤷♂️ But I’d like to suggest a third option that the BR was just that good + in tune with the game. I don’t particularly think this is a “coached aspect” beyond anything more than a token approach. Otoh, if just taking “free real estate, 90’ @ a time ALL the dang time” has become a coaching point, then that’s rather cool too. Otherwise, I think it was just brilliant dang awareness on the basepaths that got that unearned run in (bc it’s gotta be an E9 from this scorer’s table lol).
This play is similar to the famous dropped pop-up in the 9th inning by Met second baseman Luis Castillo. He dropped the pop-up with two outs allowing the tying run to trot home, but also, after dropping it, he just flipped the ball to second base, and the Yankee runner, Mark Teixeira had been running full tilt from first base (there was first and third with two outs in the ninth, the Yankees down by one run). Tex saw that Castillo didn't even look his way after dropping the pop-up and kept running flat out. The shortstop's relay from 2B to home plate was very late and Teixeira scored the winning run. He might have slowed and stopped if Castillo had gotten up and fired home, but he just flipped the ball in, like this right fielder. Great play here, and by Mark Teixeira in that Yankee championship year. His great run is always overlooked by the announcers (there are all 4 calls on RUclips to listen to on one video - Yankees and Mets, both TV and radio). Fun to listen.
PICKLEEEEE!!! Man in the box. Find it, figure out how to get out of it! Also: fall down to avoid the tag so the BR on 3B can get home safely. Love it lol 😉
I appreciate your sharing your expertise with us... I'm 66, and still learning so much about the game. One of my wheelhouses is English grammar, spelling, etc., so I hope I hope you don't mind me offering you this awareness: The first two syllables of "lackadaisical" are pronounced just as they're spelled... so it *_lack-a_* -- not "lax-a". (I also grew up in New England and have heard your pronunciation, so it might just be a regional quirk -- mixing it up with the word _lax,_ which can be a shorthand, lackadaisical way of expressing lackadaisical. 😇)
I had someone steal home because I flipped the ball back to the pitcher and the pitcher a (lefty) always turned his back to the runner to walk up the mound. Felt so bad. Good lesson to learn.
Ken Griffey Jr used to do something similar on a single to left or center. He's round 1st slowly, and then on the soft throw to the cutoff he'd take off for 2nd. There'd be a play on him, but he'd always be safe.
I’ve been doing that for 20 years. Any outfielder stopping or slowing his feet to flip to cutoffs take off. Almost always safe. Time the slow arm and leave just before he gets to the top.
My best 'free 90' was tagging up to go first to second on a pop foul to the third baseman. His back was to me, I saw his shoulders sag with relief as he caught it, and I was off. Naturally neither of the next two batters could knock me in lol.
Idk the official scoring, but as a three-year MiLB OS, that would be a SB (charged against the P for advanced metrics). Runner tagged, made no attempt for a new base; out was made, then runner stole home.
Runners at first and third is always a dicey spot. If both go, you have to make a split decision. Sometimes they even load the bases on purpose, or just allow the runner on first to steal - you don't want the guy on third to steal home if you try to throw him out.
So I grew up awhile ago & read a series of books published 20 yrs before my parents ‘oopsed it with my birth. The books helped! 😆 By teaching the nuances of the game (eg when the IF-fly rule was & was not in effect, aka you can swipe on both all the same, but the D is less likely to pay attention on a foul popout) served me well enough to pitch D-1. 🙄 🤦♂️ 🫣 Idk if host’s Q was right re: designed play… I’m keen on the BR making that ball-in-play decision himself. I mean heck… my Coach went to plenty of CWS, but he still bent an ear my way when it came time to go talk to an ump on the rules themselves lol.
Great video and neat play. Constructive criticism, I wanted to see the whole play uninterrupted again once you transitioned to adding the runner picture in picture to get a sense of his speed and reaction timing.
your baseball IQ videos are great ... more please Q: do coaches train outfielders NOT catch deep foul territory pop ups with a runner on third, less than two outs, in order to kill the easy tag up, effectively saving a run?
Great question! Reminds me of the Orioles 1970 ALCS game where Baltimore had the bases loaded, less than two outs, and the pitcher, Mike Cuellar, hit a deep drive down the right field line. The right fielder had a quick decision to make, catch the possible foul ball and let a runner score or let it go and risk a grand slam HR. He didn’t jump to try for the catch and it landed just fair into the lower seats. The fielder got some flack for his perceived lack of effort but it was clear that he was trying to minimize the damage that the Orioles inflicted in that inning.
You should take a look at the infamous Luis Castillo drop. If he throws it home instead of flips it to 2nd, Mark Tex prob stays at third and if he does go home he's out by a mile.
Great video. Do you think the runner at first base should have put himself in a better position to steal second base once the SS threw home? It feels like there could have been an opportunity there with everyone focused on the runner stealing home.
I don't. He's not going to make it because the catcher, seeing him now go, will cut the throw short and nail him with ease. Good idea at youth level maybe.
I did this in Babe Ruth league. Coach wasn't happy I didn't listen to him but got in safe. That coach sucked and played favorites all the time so I enjoyed it haha
Defensively, I’ve played this scenario out in my head a million times because I just wouldn’t want to get embarrassed. That RF has played way more ball than me and should know better…kind of an unforgivable/lazy, off-balance lob to second
Well, you could have a field day looking at the Oakland A's players. Just about every A's game I've attended, this is happened with runners moving from 1st to 2nd, or from 2nd to 3rd with ball hit anywhere in the out field. Doesn't even have to be a pop-fly ball either. A guy on 1st or 2nd and a ball hits to center! A's players have the tendency to portray themselves as...let's not get all worked up, it's a liner to center, I just catch the pop-fly or single & then do my "cool" casual "high looping" throw to 2nd base, don't get excited fans, I've been playing ball since I was a kid, no worries! Then, the runner on 1st or 2nd takes off on the lazy high loop ball and make it easily, sometimes without a secondary throw to the next base. The fielder walks in a circle, hands on hips, looking up into the air, like, what's he's doing, we don't run when we're on base like that. And that part is true, the A's don't have that snap intensity. They also don't hustle to 1st base on what they think is an easy infield out. A routine to short, they just do their trot and don't even look at the ball or play. The ball hits a pebble, a hole, something to divert the ball...OR the infielder just misplays the ball. The crowd cheers & yells, and the A's player is still just doing his "trot" not even looking. Plenty of time for the fielder to recovery and make the throw to 1st base, still beating the batter by 2 or 3 feet. Then the batter can't figure out why everyone is booing, thinking, it's a routine out ppl, get over it! Just watch the A's for ANY FIELDING oddities you might want to show. Just pick a game, "any game", you can't go wrong...especially if it's a Home Game. Supposedly, Kotsay is preparing for a "running" game this year according to reports from spring training. Seeing is believing. Anything better than station to station. Question, have you made a post regarding the different styles of manager in major league? It seems like Oakland and Giants managers are ALWAYS "player" managers...they want to be your best friend, never criticize or critique a player for not hustling. We know it's best to praise in public and criticize in private, but when you don't see any changes day after day, month after month, season after season...what's up. When A's are interviewing for a manager, they always indicate that they are looking for manger that isn't high strung & is a fit for "out style of play". What?
This is why, I think, non-baseball fans don't enjoy the game and don't understand why fans love it. Years ago we had the daughter of a family friend from the Netherlands come for a visit, and she brought a friend with her. I think at the time she was around 20 at the time, and I think her friend was around the same age. I took them both to an A's game and it turned out to be a pretty good game. I did my best to explain the rules as we rode BART to the Coliseum then at the game I explained what was going on. The other girl enjoyed the atmosphere of everyone around us, but the friend of the family really enjoyed the game and became a fan. I think I must have done a good job turning a European woman into a baseball fan. She prefers "pointless football" more, but she is now an official baseball fan. Granted, the entire family is a bit weird (for Europeans) her dad is a banker who fits the stereotype of a Dutch banker perfectly on the outside, but inside he is a 12 year old boy who loves a good prank, and her brother loves root beer.
Ideally throw with a little more authority/velocity than just a lob, in this case to the 2nd baseman. LF & CF throw to SS, RF throws to 2B, unless there's a sure play at home and they have the arm for it. And just note that this can be used against you... ie: an outfielder can lob it in seemingly carelessly for 2 innings, and then do a pump fake to see if a runner will go, and then gun him down. Same play works for catcher to pitcher.
@@MwD676 I originally thought it a fly out, fielders choice and no RBI, but then read the scoring for a sacrifice fly in 9.08(d). It doesn't allow for any other option other than a sacrifice fly (and the RBI).
Just a mistake by the RF. I'm pretty sure the coaching is always to make that throw to the first baseman, acting as the cutoff about 60 feet from home plate. He makes that throw and no one goes anywhere. A matter of discipline - do the right thing every time. (And the CF should be reminding the corner OF's to "go home" on a routine fly ball.)
I agree that the runner did a great job timing when he took off. However, you failed to mention the very common mistake that the runner made: If you are on third and there's a fly ball to the outfield, DO NOT TAKE A LEAD!! If the outfielder misses the catch, you're going to have plenty of time to make it home, anyway. However, by not taking a lead, you don't have to go back and tag up if he does make the catch. If he catches on the run, or awkwardly for any other reason, you will have your best chance of making it to home, since you don't have to start by going backwards. The reason you take a lead when you are on first or second is so that you have a decent chance of advancing two bases if the outfielder misses the ball. When you're on third, there's only one base to go, anyway.
in this case with where the ball was you're wrong. if he drops the ball you want the lead to be sure you score. it's too shallow to tag anyway. now on deeper fly balls people do make the mistake you're talking about. they should be tagging bc if it falls in you're scoring anyway but a lot of guys go too early if they think it can't be caught.
You get your primary lead when the pitcher is on the rubber and your secondary lead when the pitcher starts his motion. So before the ball is put in play. How would you know that the batter will hit a fly ball? As soon as you see the ball in th air, you go back to tag up. But you always take your lead. It allows you to score more easily on a wild pitch or passed ball.
As a middle infielder I used to hate when the outfielder would either hold onto the ball or lollipop it in to me. Please give your infielder the ball as fast as you can.
Here’s to hoping that the dreadful “3 true outcomes” boring baseball is dead and the awesome intricacies of baserunning, fielding, and strategy make a triumphant comeback to the game!
runner on 1st shouldve took off for 2nd as soon as throw home was made. no one on 2nd to tag him out on the return throw. or chance of an over throw and opportunity to get to third
It's just common sense, heads-up baseball; I think there's VERY FEW "MLB" players who have an aggressive base-running attitude (I need to get a "free-90;" I need to score; I need to do something to draw a throw, as the fielder could make an errant throw which could allow me to advance, etc.); I really get frustrated watching MOST "MLB" base runners.
‘Specially with a man on third you gotta get that ball into the infield post haste. I hope the manager gnawed the RFs lazy ass for that lackadaisical play.
Lob and runners pull a job. You have an arm? Use it. Don’t be casual with runners on base. The runner at 3rd had a 10’ lead. The right fielder wasn’t aware. Not bad mouthing him but he lost/wasn’t focused. Others are guilty for not communicating about the situation. Something here to study and practice on later.
That’s solid baserunning because the fielder made a terrible mistake . Always throw to your cutoff man in the direction of the lead base . Bad fielding
Outfields are too small. The overabundance of HRs and the RBI from them causes a surplus of runs [either by one team -- boring blowout -- or by both teams] and that reduces the importance of every "small ball" skill and tactic and strategy. Running and throwing are less important on walks, Ks and HRs [except inside the park, obviously -- which pushing back fences would increase (also out-at-home triples)].
You know, we call this a 200 IQ play but it's really just heads up baseball. This sort of thing should be happening all the time if lazy fielders are allowing it.
The right fielder caught the ball unprepared to throw home. I coach my players to catch on throwing side and immediately throw a one hopper to home. Every time. No chance that should have been a sac fly. Poor college coaching.
A lot of other runners were doing this as well they just don't get the press today that he does. Sorry but he was not the only player doing these plays.
You are right. I did not imply that JR was the only one doing this, but of course his fame has brought this to light for him. There were a lot of other smart ball players in the "old days".@@davidroman1654
"Laxadaisical" is not a word. It's as bad as "irregardless". The correct word that should be used, especially by someone trying to make a living using the English language is lackadaisical.
Horrible positioning by a d1 school.. the 1b cutoff position was 20-25 ft from home what good does that do.. what are you gonna cut and flip to the catcher? .. he should of been maybe 15 ft inside the grass cut certainly not 50- 60 ft.. and you never throw away from the plate to get it in you always keep the line to home🤦🏻♂️
I absolutely love this aspect of the game. When I played in high school, I was a decent player but not anything close to great. But I could run really fast and I just loved trying stuff like this. You could pull off plays like this all the time against inexperienced players. It was the pre-internet era so players didn't even have access to educational video like this one. My favorite was the two base sac bunt. If I was on first and the batter was bunting (we actually did that nonsense all the time back then), I would just try to take third on the play. Most of the time the infield play was loose and by the time they realized what you were doing it was way too late. Either the throw to first would be lax or the first baseman would be caught off guard and not ready to continue the play. If the third baseman fielded the bunt and you didn't slow down at all, there was often no one even covering third in time. Fun stuff.
Love it!
I had speed too as a kid and I was always looking for ways to use it. My favorite was as a 15 year old, I was on 2nd and the batter popped one up to the backstop. I slow walked back to the base. The catcher caught it with his back to the infield, so I immediately took off for 3rd. I slid in safely and coach was pumped. He said "I was hoping you'd do that."
i was NEVER fast but loved doing stuff like this.
My favorite ever was striking out with a man on first with the runner going to steal on a pitch in the dirt. I knew I was out but I ran to first anyway bc a lot of people don't know the rule about a drop third strike with less than 2 outs and first base occupied. The catcher threw to first and made a bad throw. The runner stealing ran to third and I got in a rundown between first and second knowing full well I was out and he was able to score.
First time here, but thx to this thread for saving me from creating my own lol: I had some 20 year old books talking about the nuances of the game & played them to my fullest (D-1 ride for 1 year, turns out you need to be actually GOOD to play D-1 baseball & I wasn’t a good fit for that equation lol) for years & years. Q to you all: did you guys ever run the “get picked off” play from 1st with a runner on 3rd? Can’t tell you how many times we bought a free 90’ of real estate by simply falling down between 1 & 2 lol. 🤷♂️
@soarabove337 Yes. I had to run that once in Babe Ruth league as the runner on 1st. Coach called it the "bozo play". The play was on when coach yelled "take your lead, you bozo!" Run scored and I made it to 2nd.
These analyses help demonstrate your coaching philosophy, which is always on point. Your players are fortunate to have you as coach
Thanks!
My son gave it up long ago… which basically means now I gotta explain to him “small ball” & “free real estate” in a baseball sense. (It’s ok: I had to give up the glove long ago & just do business things now… so it’s a good segueway lol.)
Edit: meant to actually address the op point of coaching philosophy bc spot-on! There’s lots of fundamentals of baseball that need to be coached, but this level of mentality has simply got to be learned, as it were. None of us are EDLC-speed, but to see him use his noggin like he were us doing LL things on the MLB level (steal 2, 3, then home on the same batter) is bc of good coaching practices at some point in his life. So op is right.
Baseball is a beautiful thing.
👍
Best comment
No errors in any other sports, including cards
You spelled 'boring' wrong.
@derekholmes4792 every sport has errors even cards
This play reminded me of White Sox catcher AJ Pierzynski "stealing" first on a "dropped" third strike in Game Two of the 2005 ALCS. With the game tied, 1-1, in the bottom of the ninth and with two outs, Pierzynski struck out, seemingly ending the Sox' at-bat and sending the game to extra innings. As soon as Anaheim Angels catcher Josh Paul caught the pitch, he rolled it out to the mound and headed for the dugout; so did everyone else - except Pierzynski. He noticed that home plate umpire Doug Eddings had not signaled "strike three," so he took off for first base and was called safe. The Angels protested, but the safe call stood. Given new life, the Sox replaced the slow-footed Pierzynski with speedy Pablo Ozuna, who stole second. Then, Joe Crede hit a double to score Ozuna with the winning run to tie the series at 1-1. The Sox then won the next three games to advance to the World Series, where they swept the Houston Astros to win their first World Championship in 88 years.
Pierzynski took a lot of crap but he knew how to play the game.
I remember that play and quite a few similar 200 IQ plays by AJ.
That was an epic lob. Really went the extra mile to take his time getting the ball in.
My baseball coach taught the outfielders to run the ball in if they were close to the infield and then call for time. Guess it was to prevent plays like this from happening.
A decent umpire will never call time in this scenario. There is no reason to call time so the fielder can throw the ball back to the pitcher.
We got coached hard against this type of play. As soon as the first baseman confirmed the runner coming back to his base he moved to the cutoff position. The Throw ALWAYS went to him, and you NEVER lobbed the ball. Drill after Drill to drive this home. The other defense was that the outfielder just ran the ball in driving the runner on 3rd back to the bag. Short fly to left worked pretty much the same way, but first priority in that instance was the outfielder running the ball in. Since he was facing both runners, he could keep an eye on them versus the 3rd baseman having his back to the runner on 1st.
It’s a simple defense, right? I mean, it’s *so simple* lol. As a SS, I hated when the OFs chucked it in waaaay past me as cutoff.
Then again, they went on to minor league baseball & I didn’t make it past Frosh year @ college. 🤦♂️
Very few are ever going to have Elly De La Cruz levels of speed… and so this play is an archetype of “taking it for granted”.
Love this play, ive wondered often about similar scenarios on plays where the fielder is sleep walking. Props to Illinois for actually trying this, great find Matt! Stuff like this is why I love this channell.
I love these heads up plays & the designed heads up plays especially, because they don’t happen often. It’s like the stars align . In my younger days At Huntington Beach HS Mark Cresse was an assistant coach for us. That year he got hired by the Dodgers as a bullpen catcher & he brought some Dodgers to our school for work with us. He brought Andy Messersmith & Davey Lopes. I wasn’t a pitcher so i wasn’t involved with Andy’s clinic but Davey Lopes taught me more in one afternoon than I have yet to learn especially about baserunning . One of the things he taught me was when you got picked at first base take a couple of quick steps toward second & return to first base diving headfirst. It worked for me every time except once when ironically I was playing against a bad first baseman , as he was so unaggressive that he hadn’t thrown the ball before I turned back to first. But usually the first baseman would see you running & throw the ball quickly allowing you to go back to first unimpeded. Now I took that play and made a variation for a squeeze play . Like I say the stars must be aligned for it to happen the situation has to have the right elements & it only happened once in a game that I witnessed ironically it happened when I wasn’t coaching I was just watching my daughter play. She was on third & the squeeze play went awry as the batter didn’t make contact , so she put on the brakes & heading back toward third , this team had an aggressive catcher who threw the ball immediately, then she reversed herself & ran to home plate before the third baseman even made a throw. Now I don’t know if this play has a chance in baseball as the difference between 90’ & 60’ basepaths but it’s worth a test.
Love to see folks finding an advantage within the scope of the rules. I bet that right fielder is watching this video, and learning a thing or two.
I love this! Great find. I don't think I have ever seen this ... but it's got to be so common! Especially at lower levels, high school, college.
This is some of the greatest analysis content on the web.
Thanks!
I most certainly HAVE heard of this before. This play was a favorite of the great Ty Cobb. He'd wait for the lob throw back in to run home if on third or for the catcher to lob it back to the pitcher to steal home or second.
And even MLB sees this every year. Reds EDLC is the closest, most recent I can recall (stole 2d, 3d, then home on lazy tosses; that he did it all on the same AB is just mind-blowing lol). The opportunity presents itself, even in the professional game. Alas…..
Throw goes home on this play…every time. Hit the cutoff man. F3 is in proper position near the mound. Get him the ball, and then the fielders are properly positioned to deal with either runner.
I mean, it’s really this simple, right? Make the catch & hit cutoff to seal 3d is all you’re saying? Then you’re right. Alas, the 3B runner was playing chess whilst the D was playing checkers lol.
I've seen a LL play where the catcher ALWAYS threw back to the pitcher hard. It lulled the runner on 2nd. Once R2 didn't get back to the base quick enough, the catcher fires to 2nd for the easy out.
I remember seeing that highlight!
The right fielder did not flip the ball to the second baseman. He lobbed it over the second baseman's head to the shortstop. Had he actually flipped it to the second baseman, there may have been time for the second baseman to whirl around and throw to home.
He should’ve thrown to the 1B who was in the cutoff spot and then the catcher would’ve told him to cut or let it go based on what the guys at first and third were doing.
@@HoerigStrength The first baseman initially went to the cutoff spot, but retreated to first base when the runner retreated to first base (to tag up on the catch). So, he wasn't in position to accept the cutoff. Since the right fielder caught the ball so shallow and the play was in front of him, he should have just charged the infield with the ball to freeze the runners, or throw home if the runner at third base broke home.
Played Mens Athletic Baseball League (MABL) for 20 years. Sometimes the first round of the playoffs were single elimination as was the case in this game. 2 outs bottom of the 9th, down a run. Our third baseman hits a slow roller to first, first baseman waiting in front of the bag to apply the game winning tag. Runner slows down and walks up like he is going to give himself up, drops to the ground and lunges for the bag. Safe!!!. Pitcher upset throws the ball away on a pickoff attempt the next play, runner first to third (because the right fielder was not backing up the pick off attempt, something I always did in right field.) The right fielder's throw gets by the third baseman, runner scores. Lol😊. That pitcher threw 17 innings. They scored 3 in the 14th we tied it in the bottom half. And we finally won it in the 17th inning with a walk and a couple singles. We ended up winning the best of 3 championship series as well that season. But, yeah I never let up on any play ever. Fence crashing, backing up balls being thrown around the infield, like Charlie Hustle on defense. Used to play with a professional attitude at all times. Was always proud to hold a runner to 90' or no extra bases. Used to tell our pitchers to just throw strikes and let your defense do their job. No walks is what I like to say. Make em string a bunch of hits. Anyways, 4 time champion trophies on the fireplace mantel. Retired and moved on to other stuff. But those trophies are just confidence building for anything else I pursue in life.
Also we tied the game in Bottom of the 14th on a high IQ play. After coach hit a bases loaded double to score 2, Shortstop struck out. I came up with the tying and winning run on second and third with 1 out. Switch hitter batting left I tried to slash one to left but pop it up in the triangle, Shortstop made a heck of a diving play going back. But our pitcher made a extremely good decision and tagged up, Shortstop caught a little of guard, popped up and made a strong throw to the plate. Was a bang bang one hopper home plate dive. I went from deflation to jumping for joy. That was a miracle victory for sure. Almost seemed like destiny.
Wow. That was brilliantly done. I suspect there had to be scouting of a particular fielder involved.
I don’t think so , I bet it’s a play they work on & it worked . The stars aligned with a heads-up baserunner meeting a lazy outfielder. Or it could be that Tennessee was generally known as being lazy in their throwbacks to the infield & it all came together.
Idk & you both could be right or wrong. 🤷♂️
But I’d like to suggest a third option that the BR was just that good + in tune with the game. I don’t particularly think this is a “coached aspect” beyond anything more than a token approach. Otoh, if just taking “free real estate, 90’ @ a time ALL the dang time” has become a coaching point, then that’s rather cool too. Otherwise, I think it was just brilliant dang awareness on the basepaths that got that unearned run in (bc it’s gotta be an E9 from this scorer’s table lol).
This play is similar to the famous dropped pop-up in the 9th inning by Met second baseman Luis Castillo. He dropped the pop-up with two outs allowing the tying run to trot home, but also, after dropping it, he just flipped the ball to second base, and the Yankee runner, Mark Teixeira had been running full tilt from first base (there was first and third with two outs in the ninth, the Yankees down by one run). Tex saw that Castillo didn't even look his way after dropping the pop-up and kept running flat out. The shortstop's relay from 2B to home plate was very late and Teixeira scored the winning run. He might have slowed and stopped if Castillo had gotten up and fired home, but he just flipped the ball in, like this right fielder. Great play here, and by Mark Teixeira in that Yankee championship year. His great run is always overlooked by the announcers (there are all 4 calls on RUclips to listen to on one video - Yankees and Mets, both TV and radio). Fun to listen.
Surprised this is not seen more at all levels
Even @ the highest levels, not everyone knows or is willing to do it… or at least they don’t have EDLC-level of speed 😂
The good ol delayed steal...actually was taught this when I was in little league back in the 70’s and taught it to my players when I coached
I have never been a fan of baseball, but I love what you do!
Thank you!
This is why you play pickle when your learning the game..
Brings back many fond memories..
PICKLEEEEE!!! Man in the box. Find it, figure out how to get out of it! Also: fall down to avoid the tag so the BR on 3B can get home safely. Love it lol 😉
I always coached my young teams to fire the ball to pitcher on this play, with the third baseman backing him up.
Accurate answer! Coach it bro! It’s an easy defense against this occurring on your watch. Alas… happened on the big screen all the same. Huh. 🤷♂️
I appreciate your sharing your expertise with us... I'm 66, and still learning so much about the game.
One of my wheelhouses is English grammar, spelling, etc., so I hope I hope you don't mind me offering you this awareness: The first two syllables of "lackadaisical" are pronounced just as they're spelled... so it *_lack-a_* -- not "lax-a". (I also grew up in New England and have heard your pronunciation, so it might just be a regional quirk -- mixing it up with the word _lax,_ which can be a shorthand, lackadaisical way of expressing lackadaisical. 😇)
It does not look cool to jog that ball in, but why not, it works every time...
I had someone steal home because I flipped the ball back to the pitcher and the pitcher a (lefty) always turned his back to the runner to walk up the mound. Felt so bad. Good lesson to learn.
Beautiful base running.
Ken Griffey Jr used to do something similar on a single to left or center. He's round 1st slowly, and then on the soft throw to the cutoff he'd take off for 2nd. There'd be a play on him, but he'd always be safe.
Love this insight from Antonelli!
No coach runs this play. That is all the 3rd base runner's intuition.
I’ve been doing that for 20 years. Any outfielder stopping or slowing his feet to flip to cutoffs take off. Almost always safe. Time the slow arm and leave just before he gets to the top.
My best 'free 90' was tagging up to go first to second on a pop foul to the third baseman. His back was to me, I saw his shoulders sag with relief as he caught it, and I was off. Naturally neither of the next two batters could knock me in lol.
Love this play and the analysis. Was this scored as a sac fly RBI or a stolen base?
Idk the official scoring, but as a three-year MiLB OS, that would be a SB (charged against the P for advanced metrics). Runner tagged, made no attempt for a new base; out was made, then runner stole home.
My youngest brother took home when the catch lobbed the ball to the pitcher.
Yeah, I remember T-ball being a lot of fun too.
@@grammar_shark, it wasn't t-ball
That right fielder really VOLUNTEERed up that run. 😉
Love good baserunning.
Runners at first and third is always a dicey spot. If both go, you have to make a split decision. Sometimes they even load the bases on purpose, or just allow the runner on first to steal - you don't want the guy on third to steal home if you try to throw him out.
So I grew up awhile ago & read a series of books published 20 yrs before my parents ‘oopsed it with my birth. The books helped! 😆 By teaching the nuances of the game (eg when the IF-fly rule was & was not in effect, aka you can swipe on both all the same, but the D is less likely to pay attention on a foul popout) served me well enough to pitch D-1. 🙄 🤦♂️ 🫣
Idk if host’s Q was right re: designed play… I’m keen on the BR making that ball-in-play decision himself. I mean heck… my Coach went to plenty of CWS, but he still bent an ear my way when it came time to go talk to an ump on the rules themselves lol.
Great video and analysis. By the way, it's "lackadaisical" not "laxadaisical". The words "lax" and "lackadaisical" do that to people.
Great video and neat play.
Constructive criticism, I wanted to see the whole play uninterrupted again once you transitioned to adding the runner picture in picture to get a sense of his speed and reaction timing.
I've noticed a lot of college and even MLB now have a habit of doing these lob throws even with runners on base.
your baseball IQ videos are great ... more please Q: do coaches train outfielders NOT catch deep foul territory pop ups with a runner on third, less than two outs, in order to kill the easy tag up, effectively saving a run?
Great question! Reminds me of the Orioles 1970 ALCS game where Baltimore had the bases loaded, less than two outs, and the pitcher, Mike Cuellar, hit a deep drive down the right field line. The right fielder had a quick decision to make, catch the possible foul ball and let a runner score or let it go and risk a grand slam HR. He didn’t jump to try for the catch and it landed just fair into the lower seats. The fielder got some flack for his perceived lack of effort but it was clear that he was trying to minimize the damage that the Orioles inflicted in that inning.
You should take a look at the infamous Luis Castillo drop. If he throws it home instead of flips it to 2nd, Mark Tex prob stays at third and if he does go home he's out by a mile.
Great video. Do you think the runner at first base should have put himself in a better position to steal second base once the SS threw home? It feels like there could have been an opportunity there with everyone focused on the runner stealing home.
I don't. He's not going to make it because the catcher, seeing him now go, will cut the throw short and nail him with ease. Good idea at youth level maybe.
I did this in Babe Ruth league. Coach wasn't happy I didn't listen to him but got in safe. That coach sucked and played favorites all the time so I enjoyed it haha
A somewhat more accurate title for this video would be "Low I.Q. by Right Fielder provides gift run to the opposing team."
Defensively, I’ve played this scenario out in my head a million times because I just wouldn’t want to get embarrassed. That RF has played way more ball than me and should know better…kind of an unforgivable/lazy, off-balance lob to second
Well, you could have a field day looking at the Oakland A's players. Just about every A's game I've attended,
this is happened with runners moving from 1st to 2nd, or from 2nd to 3rd with ball hit anywhere in the out
field. Doesn't even have to be a pop-fly ball either. A guy on 1st or 2nd and a ball hits to center! A's players
have the tendency to portray themselves as...let's not get all worked up, it's a liner to center, I just catch
the pop-fly or single & then do my "cool" casual "high looping" throw to 2nd base, don't get excited fans, I've
been playing ball since I was a kid, no worries! Then, the runner on 1st or 2nd takes off on the lazy high loop
ball and make it easily, sometimes without a secondary throw to the next base. The fielder walks in a circle,
hands on hips, looking up into the air, like, what's he's doing, we don't run when we're on base like that. And
that part is true, the A's don't have that snap intensity. They also don't hustle to 1st base on what they think
is an easy infield out. A routine to short, they just do their trot and don't even look at the ball or play. The ball
hits a pebble, a hole, something to divert the ball...OR the infielder just misplays the ball. The crowd cheers &
yells, and the A's player is still just doing his "trot" not even looking. Plenty of time for the fielder to recovery
and make the throw to 1st base, still beating the batter by 2 or 3 feet. Then the batter can't figure out why everyone is booing, thinking, it's a routine out ppl, get over it! Just watch the A's for ANY FIELDING oddities
you might want to show. Just pick a game, "any game", you can't go wrong...especially if it's a Home Game.
Supposedly, Kotsay is preparing for a "running" game this year according to reports from spring training.
Seeing is believing. Anything better than station to station. Question, have you made a post regarding
the different styles of manager in major league? It seems like Oakland and Giants managers are ALWAYS
"player" managers...they want to be your best friend, never criticize or critique a player for not hustling.
We know it's best to praise in public and criticize in private, but when you don't see any changes day after
day, month after month, season after season...what's up. When A's are interviewing for a manager, they
always indicate that they are looking for manger that isn't high strung & is a fit for "out style of play". What?
This is why, I think, non-baseball fans don't enjoy the game and don't understand why fans love it.
Years ago we had the daughter of a family friend from the Netherlands come for a visit, and she brought a friend with her.
I think at the time she was around 20 at the time, and I think her friend was around the same age.
I took them both to an A's game and it turned out to be a pretty good game. I did my best to explain the rules as we rode BART to the Coliseum then at the game I explained what was going on.
The other girl enjoyed the atmosphere of everyone around us, but the friend of the family really enjoyed the game and became a fan.
I think I must have done a good job turning a European woman into a baseball fan. She prefers "pointless football" more, but she is now an official baseball fan. Granted, the entire family is a bit weird (for Europeans) her dad is a banker who fits the stereotype of a Dutch banker perfectly on the outside, but inside he is a 12 year old boy who loves a good prank, and her brother loves root beer.
runners always seem to know what's going on because there is only one ball to watch, while fielders need help because there are more than one runner.
New baseball fan here. What should the outfielder have done?
Ideally throw with a little more authority/velocity than just a lob, in this case to the 2nd baseman. LF & CF throw to SS, RF throws to 2B, unless there's a sure play at home and they have the arm for it. And just note that this can be used against you... ie: an outfielder can lob it in seemingly carelessly for 2 innings, and then do a pump fake to see if a runner will go, and then gun him down. Same play works for catcher to pitcher.
@@MattsBaseballWorld Makes sense. Thanks!
How about runner from first tags and takes off for second to draw attention and a throw. When throw goes to second, runner from third breaks for home.
Is that scored as a Sac with an RBI or a fly out with an error?
It's a sacrifice fly and RBI.
Because of the play design and delay in R3 going home, it may not be an RBI. And if so, it would also not be a Sac fly.
It is a fielder’s choice to throw to the wrong base and to have slow handling of the ball. But, no physical error was committed-only a mental mistake.
@@MwD676 I originally thought it a fly out, fielders choice and no RBI, but then read the scoring for a sacrifice fly in 9.08(d). It doesn't allow for any other option other than a sacrifice fly (and the RBI).
Thankfully the Vols came back to win.
"You're lollygagging. What do they call people who do that?"
"Lollygaggers!"
We were taught to jog with the ball into the infield.
Just a mistake by the RF. I'm pretty sure the coaching is always to make that throw to the first baseman, acting as the cutoff about 60 feet from home plate. He makes that throw and no one goes anywhere. A matter of discipline - do the right thing every time. (And the CF should be reminding the corner OF's to "go home" on a routine fly ball.)
I agree that the runner did a great job timing when he took off. However, you failed to mention the very common mistake that the runner made: If you are on third and there's a fly ball to the outfield, DO NOT TAKE A LEAD!! If the outfielder misses the catch, you're going to have plenty of time to make it home, anyway. However, by not taking a lead, you don't have to go back and tag up if he does make the catch. If he catches on the run, or awkwardly for any other reason, you will have your best chance of making it to home, since you don't have to start by going backwards.
The reason you take a lead when you are on first or second is so that you have a decent chance of advancing two bases if the outfielder misses the ball. When you're on third, there's only one base to go, anyway.
in this case with where the ball was you're wrong. if he drops the ball you want the lead to be sure you score. it's too shallow to tag anyway.
now on deeper fly balls people do make the mistake you're talking about. they should be tagging bc if it falls in you're scoring anyway but a lot of guys go too early if they think it can't be caught.
You get your primary lead when the pitcher is on the rubber and your secondary lead when the pitcher starts his motion. So before the ball is put in play. How would you know that the batter will hit a fly ball? As soon as you see the ball in th air, you go back to tag up. But you always take your lead. It allows you to score more easily on a wild pitch or passed ball.
As a middle infielder I used to hate when the outfielder would either hold onto the ball or lollipop it in to me. Please give your infielder the ball as fast as you can.
Who knew rounders could be so complicated?
Excellent analysis.
(But there's no X in "lackadaisical")
Little league, we were and later taught fielders to run ball back to the infield! It freezes the runners!
Same here! I just made the same separate comment.
walk it in. walk it in.
*Lackadaisical
Wouldn’t the throw always go to first baseman as cutoff no matter what?
Right fielder took a nap. 😴
Here’s to hoping that the dreadful “3 true outcomes” boring baseball is dead and the awesome intricacies of baserunning, fielding, and strategy make a triumphant comeback to the game!
People miss the game within the game when it comes to baseball
Awesome play, but why does he slide into home unnecessarily? He should have seen they had zero chance to get him.
Are you related to Johnny Antonelli?
I just remember being taught to run the ball in. What do I know I'm not a pro 🤷🤷
runner on 1st shouldve took off for 2nd as soon as throw home was made. no one on 2nd to tag him out on the return throw. or chance of an over throw and opportunity to get to third
It's not "laxadaisical".
I ha e seen that before
Hail to The Chief!!!
ILL!
@@capitankak INI!
It's just common sense, heads-up baseball; I think there's VERY FEW "MLB" players who have an aggressive base-running attitude (I need to get a "free-90;" I need to score; I need to do something to draw a throw, as the fielder could make an errant throw which could allow me to advance, etc.); I really get frustrated watching MOST "MLB" base runners.
‘Specially with a man on third you gotta get that ball into the infield post haste. I hope the manager gnawed the RFs lazy ass for that lackadaisical play.
I was always taught to run that ball in. There is no reason to throw it to second base. Run it in and throw to pitcher.
I would have taken second base at the same time.
I doubt it was a predetermined play. Smart baserunners just do things like that.
Lob and runners pull a job.
You have an arm? Use it.
Don’t be casual with runners on base.
The runner at 3rd had a 10’ lead. The right fielder wasn’t aware.
Not bad mouthing him but he lost/wasn’t focused.
Others are guilty for not communicating about the situation.
Something here to study and practice on later.
alpha as fk
I-L-L...
I-N-I!!
That’s solid baserunning because the fielder made a terrible mistake . Always throw to your cutoff man in the direction of the lead base . Bad fielding
Outfields are too small.
The overabundance of HRs and the RBI from them causes a surplus of runs [either by one team -- boring blowout -- or by both teams] and that reduces the importance of every "small ball" skill and tactic and strategy.
Running and throwing are less important on walks, Ks and HRs [except inside the park, obviously -- which pushing back fences would increase (also out-at-home triples)].
You know, we call this a 200 IQ play but it's really just heads up baseball. This sort of thing should be happening all the time if lazy fielders are allowing it.
The right fielder caught the ball unprepared to throw home. I coach my players to catch on throwing side and immediately throw a one hopper to home. Every time. No chance that should have been a sac fly. Poor college coaching.
Dang that’s like 5x my iq
Throw needed to go immediately to the cutoff man????
He should’ve ran the ball all the way to the pitcher
Fundamentals
Jackie Robinson was doing this running stuff in the 1940's!
A lot of other runners were doing this as well they just don't get the press today that he does. Sorry but he was not the only player doing these plays.
You are right. I did not imply that JR was the only one doing this, but of course his fame has brought this to light for him. There were a lot of other smart ball players in the "old days".@@davidroman1654
"Laxadaisical" is not a word. It's as bad as "irregardless". The correct word that should be used, especially by someone trying to make a living using the English language is lackadaisical.
Go have relations with yourself.
GO VOLS!
Now show the final score……..
Yeah when you get beat by a team 24-1 I guess you have to manufacture/steal runs anyway you possibly can
RF was negligent by NOT executing the fundamentals, which you learn in little league, of running the ball in and calling time!!
If I'm the umpire, I am not giving him time. There is no reason to call time.
Perfect example of cocky Tennessee non-chalanting a play.
Horrible positioning by a d1 school.. the 1b cutoff position was 20-25 ft from home what good does that do.. what are you gonna cut and flip to the catcher? .. he should of been maybe 15 ft inside the grass cut certainly not 50- 60 ft.. and you never throw away from the plate to get it in you always keep the line to home🤦🏻♂️
It’s not a 200 iq play to title a sports clip “200 iq…” I get that’s it’s trendy, but it’s just not accurate.