Is anybody watching the Twins/Tigers game?

[star18]

That doesn't matter, he did not approach the ball correctly.  He did jog on it watch the replay, and took too many steps to get in front of it and then picked the ball up with his glove. Then he took another two steps after he picked the ball up with his glove.  You have to sprint, barehand it and release it in one motion.  Even if that works only 1 in 100 times you have to approach the ball like that.  Because the way he went after it works 0 in 100 times.

[Rondo2287]

That doesn't matter, he did not approach the ball correctly.  He did jog on it watch the replay, and took too many steps to get in front of it and then picked the ball up with his glove. Then he took another two steps after he picked the ball up with his glove.  You have to sprint, barehand it and release it in one motion.  Even if that works only 1 in 100 times you have to approach the ball like that.  Because the way he went after it works 0 in 100 times.

Well hes gonna be throwing it into the stands your way because he never turned his body to home plate.  And I dont think there are any MLB outfielders that dont have to crow hop on that one. 

[star18]

The ball should have never touched his glove, he has to barehand that.

[Rondo2287]

Thats an incredibly difficult play.  And would most likely result in no throw at all.  I would rather a throw towards homeplate than a bobble in the outfield.

[star18]

It is the only play.  A regular throw towards home is no play at all.

To me the Courtney Lee allley oop in Game 2 against Pau Gasol was a similair play because the play was not approached correctly.  Lee tried to arch it high off the backboard and over Gasol, what he should have done is shot it quick and low because if Gasol would have blocked it, it would have been after it hit the backboard and would have been a goaltend.

[Rondo2287]

There really isnt any play to be made at all in that situation.  All barehanding does is decrease the chance of a throw home.  The only way they get him with that outfield positioning is if the runner stumbles at some point.  And then you still need a perfect throw.  Im willing to say 100% chance that play doesnt get made from where that guy was standing by anybody in the majors. 

[star18]

Barehanding the ball gives you a quicker release.    Just because you don't see outfielders do it on last plays of the game, doesn't mean it isn't the correct approach in that situation.

[Rondo2287]

Barehanding the ball gives you a quicker release.    Just because you don't see outfielders do it on last plays of the game, doesn't mean it isn't the correct approach in that situation.

Ya, cause the guys that get paid for a living to play baseball dont know the correct approach....

[star18]

Ya and the 1,280 players that are in the MLB are the 1 through 1,280 best players in the world.  There isn't anybody who is good enough to make the majors that chooses not to involve themsleves with the game.

On that play it wasn't the correct approach.  Here is another example:In the 2004 Super Bowl Patriots vs Panthers, Rod Smart took the last kickoff of the game after Vinatieri made the field goal.   The clock expired with the ball in his hands.  He tucked it in and hit the ground, gave over.  That is the wrong approach also.  You have to let the ball go, either try and toss it to a teammate or just try and pull a holy roller like Kenny Stabler, or do something.  You cannot hit the ground with the ball in your hands.   That may work 1 in 1,000 too, but that one game was Cal vs Stanford in 1982 and it turns out to be one of the biggest highlights in sports history. You have to try. 

The same thing with infielders.  Mike Schmidt did it all the time, that was his signature play.  Schmitty barehanded it from third on a bunt, or a slow infield hit and threw the guy out at first.  If Schmitty picks up the ball with his glove, the runner is safe.   So why would an outfielder be any different? Yes it is much more difficult to make that play as an outfielder it doesn't mean you don't try.

Imagine if Kevin Moen, Richard Rogers, Dwight Garner & Mariet Ford thought the same way, that you just do things the regular way and don't try for an extraordianry effort on the last play of the game.  There wouldn't be a "band running out on the field".  One of the greatest moments in sports history.

[star18]

You go out like a champion and as a warrior.   You do everything you can on the last play of the game, flail your arms, do something crazy, make some crazy herky jerky motion, some ridiculous effort to show everybody that you are not going out without a fight.   If you are in centerfield and the ball appears to be going out of the park, you climb the fence and jump anyway because your season is over otherwise. Even if you are 10 feet from the ball you jump anyway because it shows you tried as hard as you could.  I don't like it when players approach the last play of a season as another routine going through the motions play, it looks ridiculous.

[Rondo2287]

Ya and the 1,280 players that are in the MLB are the 1 through 1,280 best players in the world.  There isn't anybody who is good enough to make the majors that chooses not to involve themsleves with the game.

On that play it wasn't the correct approach.  Here is another example:In the 2004 Super Bowl Patriots vs Panthers, Rod Smart took the last kickoff of the game after Vinatieri made the field goal.   The clock expired with the ball in his hands.  He tucked it in and hit the ground, gave over.  That is the wrong approach also.  You have to let the ball go, either try and toss it to a teammate or just try and pull a holy roller like Kenny Stabler, or do something.  You cannot hit the ground with the ball in your hands.   That may work 1 in 1,000 too, but that one game was Cal vs Stanford in 1982 and it turns out to be one of the biggest highlights in sports history. You have to try. 

The same thing with infielders.  Mike Schmidt did it all the time, that was his signature play.  Schmitty barehanded it from third on a bunt, or a slow infield hit and threw the guy out at first.  If Schmitty picks up the ball with his glove, the runner is safe.   So why would an outfielder be any different? Yes it is much more difficult to make that play as an outfielder it doesn't mean you don't try.

Imagine if Kevin Moen, Richard Rogers, Dwight Garner & Mariet Ford thought the same way, that you just do things the regular way and don't try for an extraordianry effort on the last play of the game.  There wouldn't be a "band running out on the field".  One of the greatest moments in sports history.

I think he did the best he could, I dont think he was jogging.  I think you arent being quite realistic.

[star18]

He may have done the best he could by taking the advice of a coach or something like that on what they told him to do, but it doesn't mean that is the correct approach.

Watch the replay, he slows up considerably as he gets to the ball. It is way too slow I watched the replay 20 times from 4 different angles.   There is no "OMG this is the last second of my season, a season that lasted 162 games at 3 1/2 hours per game"  There was no panic mode, and as soon as that ball was hit, there should have been.

[MBz]

Barehanding in the outfield is a lot harder then it is in the infield.  You barehand in the outfield and you miss you don't have a chance, you barehand in the infield you have someone behind you that can still hold a runner.  All of this being said, there was no chance of throwing Gomez out at the plate, he's one of the fastest guys in the game and was scoring regardless.  Also, there was no chance he could even barehand that, the ball was on his glove side, he would have had to reach across his body to barehand it, which would mean he then would have to spin to throw the ball which can be extremely inaccurate and would take more time.

[star18]

He could have sprinted harder towards the ball and got on the the left side of the ball from his perspective to barehand it.   He doesn't throw Gomez out the game is over, it doesn't matter if he fields it cleanly or not.   

Similiar example in the last Super Bowl.   Kurt Warner supposedly fumbles, and who knows whether is was a fumble or incomplete pass.  What I do know is that Warner goes back to the sidelines after that play without much of an effort to reverse the call.  He should have been right in the refs face screaming and going crazy, pulling a George Brett pine tar incident.  Now I love Warner he is a stand up guy and does so much for the community and is one of the best people in pro sports.   However the way he ended that super bowl, he should have done a lot more to try and get the call reversed. 

[Rondo2287]

Ok, so you want him to overrun the ball to get to the correct side to barehand it and then try to barehand it while turning his body to square up to homplate without crow hopping to make the throw? 

This is absolutely the worst approach that could be taken to handle this ground ball.  There isnt a single person in baseball that would tell you to take this approach to this play.