Jose Bautista drew ire of Royals fans early in 2015 ALCS, then made two big mistakes
Off the bat, there was little reason to believe a ball hit by Ben Zobrist would turn the tide for the Royals in Game 2 of the 2015 American League Championship Series.
At the time, the Royals trailed by three runs and had just one hit through six innings. Blue Jays starter David Price was on a roll, and showed no signs of slowing when Zobrist popped up to short right field. Out ran second baseman Ryan Goins and in came right fielder Jose Bautista, who stopped in his tracks despite having a chance to catch the ball.
Bautista had ceded responsibility for the catch to Goins, even though Royals coach Rusty Kuntz (and others) say an outfielder coming in should make the catch.
When the ball landed harmlessly and spun toward Bautista’s foot, he picked it up as Royals fans cheered the miscue. The cheers were just as loud minutes earlier when Bautista showed his displeasure at taking a called third strike in a full count.
At that point, and throughout the ALCS and for years to come, Bautista was reviled by Royals fans.
The reason was something Bautista had done roughly 20 hours earlier. During the Royals’ 5-0 win in Game 1 (which will air again on Monday night on Fox Sports Kansas City), Bautista made a catch near the right-field line for the final out of an inning and then pretended to toss the ball to Royals fans.
This drew the ire of Royals fans at Kauffman Stadium and watching on television:
That’s why Bautista’s gaffe in Game 2 brought special enjoyment to Royals fans. Price was never the same after the ball fell as the Royals collected five more hits and scored five times, turning the tide in what would be a 6-3 victory.
“I don’t know that there’s really an explanation for it other than, ‘That’s baseball,’” Bautista told reporters after the game. “Everybody knows the caliber of pitcher he is, but a bad break here or there can change everything in a ball game, no matter what time of year it is.”
Bautista never assigned blame for the mistake.
“I think there’s video,” Bautista said. “You can watch it.”
Here’s the video:
Even when Bautista did something bad in the ALCS, Royals fans shared their dislike on social media with posts like this.
Bautista’s biggest mistake came at the worst time in Game 6.
With the score tied 3-3 (all of Toronto’s runs came on two Bautista home runs), Lorenzo Cain drew a leadoff walk in the eighth inning. Eric Hosmer followed with a single, forcing Bautista to run toward the right-field line. He grabbed the ball, spun around and threw to second base to keep Hosmer from advancing.
What Bautista failed to see was Cain running all the way to the plate with what proved to be the winning run. Credit the Royals’ advance scouting for taking advantage of Bautista’s decision to throw to second.
“I knew if I had somebody that could run coming into third base, we were going to go ahead and wheel him,” third base coach Mike Jirschele told The Star’s Blair Kerkhoff at the time. “It’s my job to recognize that on a ball like that if he throws to second, and you have somebody who can run, they’re going to have to catch it at second, turn and throw home.”
Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki tried to catch Cain at the plate, but the throw was late.
“I felt I cut it off quick enough to where if I threw to second I would prevent (Hosmer) from going to second and Cain from scoring,” Bautista said. “Obviously, I was wrong.
“At the same time, if I throw the ball home the situation is men at second and third with no outs … It’s one of those tough ones. Now, I wish I had thrown the ball home.”
Royals fans, who were furious about a ball Bautista didn’t throw in Game 1, were thrilled about a ball he did throw ... to the wrong base. It was one that helped the Royals claim a second straight American League pennant.
