Anthony Rizzo stands very close to the plate. Next to the plate. On top of the plate. Eating a sandwich literally standing on top of the plate.
Among many good things, it does mean he’s prone to one ridiculous thing: getting hit by a pitch that you swung at. We’ve seen it many times before, as Rizzo waves over a breaking ball that comes through and hits his back foot. As long as he’s OK, it’s totally fine and worth a little embarrassment. For the most part, the dude rakes.
But today, there was a new twist, as Rizzo was hit by a pitch he swung at, but it was up and in, and it was a check swing situation. The third base ump bizarrely called it no swing at first, when you can clearly see that Rizzo swung:
¯_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/jxjJPbpw6A
— Cubs Talk (@NBCSCubs) June 21, 2019
There should be no argument that Rizzo swung at that pitch, unless you want to get really crazy. Which I do.
Consider this: when a batter is hit by a pitch, it’s a dead ball. In that situation, it is clear to me that Rizzo was hit by the pitch during the process of his swing, but BEFORE he had actually gone as far as would be defined as a swing. Therefore, I say it’s a dead ball the second Rizzo is hit by the pitch, and at that precise moment, he has not swung yet. So how could you say he swung and struck out at a pitch that was a dead ball before he’d swung?
That should have been a HBP, and Rizzo should have been trotting to first base instead of the dugout.
Lawyer’d.