12/03/24
April 26, 2017
MLB *Play of the Year* is pretty much locked up by Chris Coghlan after this bit of insanity.:
Seriously. Watch the play.
The umpire in me is trying to find a rule violation in this. The high school rules forbid a runner from hurdling a fielder. That was not a hurdle, since hurdling describes the action taking to jump over an obstacle by extending the front leg and trailing the back leg. The rules also demand that a runner approaching a base where a tag play is to be made either slide, give himself up, or attempt to avoid contact with the fielder. Most of us mortals think of avoiding as going from side to side. Not so for Mr. Coghlan; since he can fly, he has put a third dimension into the game.
posted by Howard_T at 12:23 AM on April 26, 2017
If you watch one of the replays, it sure does look like Coghlan misses touching 3rd base, but the Cardinals were so confused by the play at home that no one thought to make an appeal play.
posted by grum@work at 12:30 AM on April 26, 2017
That was unbelievable. Afterwards I couldn't tell if Coghlan was making the "safe" call or acting like a plane. Both were appropriate to the situation.
posted by rcade at 08:26 AM on April 26, 2017
The catcher should have turned and thanked him for not turning him into a human bowling pin. That encounter had "blown up" written all over it. And the roll at the end makes me wonder if that's not the first time he's tried to imitate Superman.
With the new rules regarding interference at the plate, would he have been safe had he just bowled over the catcher? Not saying that would have been a good idea, but it seems to me that the catcher was in the lane long before he caught the ball.
posted by jjohn24680 at 10:51 AM on April 26, 2017
Catcher froze bracing for impact. If he swipes upwards with the ball in his glove the runner is out.
Can't say I blame him, and he probably prevented any injuries from occurring to either party by staying down.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:15 AM on April 26, 2017
I'm pretty sure Coghlan would have been okay to bowl over Molina.
- Coghlan is not allowed to go out of his way to make contact. He can't go outside his direct line to the plate to initiate contact. In this case, running into Molina wouldn't be going outside the direct line.
- Molina is not allowed to set up in the path of the runner without the ball. However, in this case, he was attempting to field the ball and is therefore allowed to be in the path of the runner. He did not initially set up in the path, but had to get to that point because the throw tailed up the line.
- Once Molina has the ball in his glove, Coghlan pretty much has no choice but to go into (or over) Molina. His momentum and direct line to the base pretty much commits him to this point, and nobody (catcher or runner) has broken any rules. A collision is pretty much expected in this kind of case.
Side note: Replays from the St. Louis broadcast show that Coghlan DID step on third base, despite my initial concern a few comments up.
posted by grum@work at 12:11 PM on April 26, 2017
9.65 ... points lost for hitting Molina's helmet.
I was curious as to when Coghlan thought about the flip. Crashing and sliding weren't going to be successful options; flipping looked to be a spur-of-the-moment decision.
posted by jjzucal at 01:19 PM on April 26, 2017
The thing I liked was that Pillar was already rounding second base when the ball hit the outfield wall, and he got to third before Coghlan touched the plate.
posted by beaverboard at 06:14 PM on April 26, 2017
I like how the announcers still use the word "slide"...