Duuuuude. I don’t know if it’s just me, but this year’s World Baseball Classic has been freaking awesome.
I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but you have Cinderellas like Italy and Israel making waves, you have powerhouses like the United States and Puerto Rico doing their thing, and you have crazy moments and crazy games seemingly constantly.
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Look at what just happened in today’s matchup between another powerhouse and another would-be cinderella, as the Dominican Republic was playing Colombia with a chance to move on to the next round on the line.
Playing to a tie in the 9th inning, the Colombians were primed to walk things off on a sac fly when Jose Bautista said nope, and chaos broke out:
Bedlam in Miami! @JoeyBats in the clutch. #WBC2017 pic.twitter.com/EA2BVtkW56
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 12, 2017
That was nuts. Obviously the Colombians thought they had just won the game, but no dice.
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It was not an especially strong throw from Bautista, and it was up the line a bit. But he set himself very well, and the transfer was very quick. Of course, the fact that the throw was up the line is what set up the controversy, since a catcher may not block the plate without the ball (unless he moves there in the process of catching the throw, which takes him in front of the plate). Was Welington Castillo set up to block the plate? Did the throw take him there? You be the judge.
As it was, that saved the game for the Dominicans, who went on to score seven runs in the 11th inning and win the game 10-3.