Pitcher fielding practice is pretty damn basic. Know what else is basic? Not making the third out at third base. It’s something Brett Gardner forgot on Monday night when he was caught stealing third base to end a would-be Yankees scoring threat. It’s also something Carl Crawford forgot when he got nailed at third trying to advance on a sac fly in the 10th inning, ending the ballgame.
Though maybe we should go easy on Crawford, because the throw that got him was an absolute humdinger. Watch Greg Golson in right field with the laser shot right here. It’s totally possible that will be the play of his life.
The kicker to that play is that even if Crawford makes it, he’s at third with two outs. Sure, a wild pitch or an infield hit could score him then, but the odds strongly favor the Rays needing and getting a solid base hit to score over those options. Crawford is damn fast. He can score from second. I realize that this is hindsight, but it strikes me that trying to move to third in that situation is too great a risk.
But those of us without a rooting interest have to enjoy it. There aren’t many plays in baseball more exciting than an outfielder killing the runner. Especially when the runner has jets like Carl Crawford does.