NEWSLETTER
When you hear “Yoenis Cespedes” and “inside-the-park homer,” you probably think, “Ooh, I’d like to see Cespedes do that!”
Except, in this instance, when you hear “Yoenis Cespedes” and “inside-the-park homer,” it’s not actually good for Cespedes.
But you do still want to see him do, um, this:
That’s Houston Astros prospect A.J. Reed netting the world’s most slowly-trotted inside-the-park home run thanks to Cespedes’ claim that the ball was, well, gone.
Except the ball was sitting right there. I understand that you may have initially thought the ball was going up under the mat, meaning that it was out of play and a ground rule double. But when you looked down, Yoenis, you had to see that the ball was inches from your feet. Just pick up and give it a toss. End of play.
But Cespedes was committed at that point. He had to act like he couldn’t see the ball no matter what. What ball? There is no ball.
I love the ump’s visual explanation to Cespedes, shaking his hands in near disbelief, bending down and rolling the ball gently into the field of play, essentially saying, “Ball’s right there, dude. That’s a dinger.”
