Carlos Gonzalez hits a broken bat triple to bring the Rockies back from behind
Aug 31, 2010, 8:46 AM EDT
In the recaps this morning I mentioned Carlos Gonzalez’ broken bat triple that won it for the Rockies last night and I asked how such a thing happens. This is how it happens. I’ll be damned. I saw Barry Bonds hit a broken bat homer once, but I’ve never seen something like that play before.
I feel bad for Cody Ross. Yes, you sure as hell can’t let something get over your head in the ninth inning of a one-run game, but instinct counts for something, right? Just about every player’s instinct upon hearing and seeing the bat break would be to come in fast, thinking that there’s no way the ball had any oomph on it coming off the bat. Gonzalez’s ball just had extra oomph I guess.
While Ross looked bad — in fact, he looked like me on every ball that came my way while playing outfield back in my Babe Ruth days — the worst part of that play was Freddy Sanchez’s relay throw. A good throw could have gotten Gonzalez, but hey, not all throws are good. What they’re not, however, are worm burners like Sanchez’s was. That’s what allowed Gonzalez to score and thus lost the game.
Tough to take for Giants’ fans, especially on a night when the team could have gained ground on both the Phillies and the Padres. But hey, sometimes freaky stuff goes down on a baseball diamond.
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- Chris Fiorentino - Aug 31, 2010 at 9:04 AM
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With no outs, Gonzalez was likely to score from third anyway, but that had to be the lamest relay throw and attempted catch from both the third baseman and the back-up that I have ever seen. It bounced about 10 times, was steaming into third at about 1.3 MPH, then somehow it looked like it hit off the 3rd baseman’s glove, picked up steam, then the backup ole’s it and it takes a crazy bounce and goes into the stands. Makes me happy though because the Phillies once again didn’t show up and didn’t lose any ground in the Wild Card race. However, Braves win!! Braves win!!! Thuh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh Braves win!!!
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- lar @ wezen-ball - Aug 31, 2010 at 9:14 AM
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No comment on the fact that Ross picked up the ball directly in front of a sign that said “Triple’s Alley”. That seemed pretty funny to me.
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- okobojicat - Aug 31, 2010 at 9:26 AM
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While that was not a great throw, that error is not Sanchez’s fault. Fat Panda failed miserably to knock that down. That was garbage. He should’ve camped out in front of the base and just stopped that ball like a catcher.
Sanchez purposefully threw that ball low so that it couldn’t sail into the seats. He probably threw it too low (ie, wormburner) but really, that’s an easy play for Panda to knock down.
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- BC - Aug 31, 2010 at 9:35 AM
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I missed the Bonds homer, but I remember a couple times where Jim Rice hit broken bat homers. Only times I’ve ever seen that.
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- okobojicat - Aug 31, 2010 at 9:58 AM
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Frank Thomas did it a couple times at the Cell. Before he started his whirlwind journey of Toronto and Oakland.
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- Joe - Aug 31, 2010 at 10:03 AM
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Sanchez’ throw went like 50 feet in the air. Of course it’s his fault. And the reason that Sandoval missed it was because Gonzalez slid into the ball and it changed direction after hitting his hands.
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- Chris Fiorentino - Aug 31, 2010 at 10:55 AM
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Joe, if he gets his fat ass in front of it, no amount of “direction-change” would have stopped him from blocking it. Plus, what about the butter-fingers back-up? I think everyone involved in the play deserves equal blame for that keystone-cops-esque disaster.
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- Kevin S. - Aug 31, 2010 at 11:12 AM
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I can’t believe everybody is forgetting Triscuitt Messmer’s shattered-bat home run.
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- scatterbrian - Aug 31, 2010 at 1:17 PM
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The ball hit Gonzalez’s arm five feet in front of the bag as he was sliding. That’s not a ball a third baseman will get to.
