As a baserunner, you are not allowed to intentionally knock away a throw. We know this.
But I’m just saying, if you can pull it off like a soccer player’s header, you should be called safe. Didn’t work out for Diamondbacks outfielder Kole Calhoun, who got caught in a rundown and very deftly doinked a throw away using his helmeted head.
It didn’t look like much live, but when you see the replay, you can see he was getting crafty:
Kole Calhoun with the header off the corner kick.#GGGGOOOOAAAALLLLLLLLLLL@FIFAWorldCup | @Dbacks pic.twitter.com/rPPwAs7PHm
— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) August 25, 2020
Of the play, Calhoun was just honest about his in-the-moment decision: “I don’t know, man. Like I said, it’s literally coming right at me, I have a helmet on. You just take your chances. Maybe I just stay right there, it kicks off [my head], goes into left field and now we’ve got a guy on third. I don’t know. It didn’t seem right to duck and get out of the way and let him catch it and tag me out.”
The play wound up getting Calhoun’s manager ejected, and was the first time the umpiring crew could ever remember seeing a player try to block a throw using his head.