Having a seasoned manager like Buck Showalter in the dugout is already paying off for the New York Mets.
When the Arizona Diamondbacks believed that Dominic Smith left third base early on a sixth-inning sacrifice fly on Sunday, Showalter called a play from the dugout to prevent Arizona from appealing the play at third base.
https://twitter.com/SNYtv/status/1515782699616714755?s=20&t=785yxUbtFsQ9OmbWpzTP8g
Showalter had Mets third baseman J.D. Davis leave first base with Diamondbacks’ reliever Oliver Perez still on the rubber, causing Perez to step off the rubber and make a move towards second base before throwing to third to appeal the previous play. The problem is, once the pitcher steps off the rubber and puts the ball in play, there is no longer an option to appeal the previous play. So, not only did Smith’s run stand, Davis stole the easiest base of his life.
The Mets beat the Diamondbacks 5-0 on Sunday and are now 7-3 on the season. Showalter duped the Diamondbacks and a 20-year MLB veteran in Perez on Sunday thanks to his vast knowledge of the game, something that Showalter says the Mets work on every day.
“It’s something we talked about in the spring. We go over a couple of rules every day. We couldn’t get the phone call quite in time to make sure we hadn’t left early. So it’s something we talked about. I gave the sign to [third-base coach] Joey [Cora], and we took off from first base so we could get the run; I’ll trade the out for the run every time.”
Showalter’s savviness is already paying off for New York.