Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista and second baseman Ryan Goins couldn’t get on the same page on a Ben Zobrist pop-up at the start of the seventh inning in Game 2 of the ALCS on Saturday. The pop-up fell to the ground between both players, and the Royals would use it as a catalyst for a five-run inning.
In discussing the play after the game, the two players handled it in polar opposite ways. Goins accepted fault for the mistake, while Bautista didn’t think there was an issue. Via MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm:
Impossible to be any more accountable than Ryan Goins just was. Clubhouse opened, he was waiting by door to talk to the media. #BlueJays
— Gregor Chisholm (@GregorChisholm) October 17, 2015
Goins: "It’s a play that I’ve made a hundred times this season. I just lost track of where I was on the field... (1of2) #BlueJays
— Gregor Chisholm (@GregorChisholm) October 18, 2015
... I thought I heard something I didn’t and I backed off the ball. I should’ve been more aggressive." #BlueJays (2of2)
— Gregor Chisholm (@GregorChisholm) October 18, 2015
Goins: "I stuck my glove up, which is kind of the sign for, ‘I got it.’ I did it probably two or three times... (1of2) #BlueJays
— Gregor Chisholm (@GregorChisholm) October 18, 2015
... I thought late that I heard something, and it wasn’t. I didn’t go at it aggressively enough." #BlueJays (2of2)
— Gregor Chisholm (@GregorChisholm) October 18, 2015
Goins: "I thought I heard, ‘I got it.’ It was nothing." #BlueJays
— Gregor Chisholm (@GregorChisholm) October 18, 2015
Bautista on his perspective of the play: "My perspective? I think there’s video. You can watch it." #BlueJays
— Gregor Chisholm (@GregorChisholm) October 18, 2015
Bautista when asked about the 'confusion': "There was no confusion. I don’t know what you’re talking about." #BlueJays
— Gregor Chisholm (@GregorChisholm) October 18, 2015
Bautista, already on thin ice with a sizable percentage of baseball fans for his bat flip and his souvenir deke, isn’t likely to win over any new fans with this.