‘We’ve seen it all now!’ The Pirates scored three runs on a ball hit 57 feet.
It wasn’t the worst blunder in baseball history, but Mets starting pitcher Taijuan Walker made a bad decision Sunday and compounded it by arguing about a call that went against him.
Let’s set the scene.
The Pittsburgh Pirates had the bases loaded with one out in the first inning when Kevin Newman came to the plate. Newman hit a swinging bunt to the left side, and the ball hugged the third-base line. It traveled all of 57 feet before Walker pushed it aside thinking the ball was in foul territory.
Home plate umpire Jeremy Riggs ruled it fair and Walker argued vehemently while the ball was still live.
As Close Call Sports notes, “A fair ball is a batted ball that ... while on or over fair territory touches the person of an umpire or player.”
The Pirates runners all ended up scoring before Walker realized what was happening.
Pittsburgh’s announcer was quite animated, saying: “It’s a fair ball! Oh my goodness! Do you believe this? It’s still in play. Pirates score three. Oh my gosh, we’ve seen it all now! We’ve seen it all!”
The play was scored as a single for Newman and an error by Walker.
“I was just trying to get it out because, I mean, obviously it was so close,” Walker told MLB.com. “I just flipped it out and I thought I flipped it out into the dugout. I didn’t even realize it was still in play. ... Crazy play, and obviously I was frustrated about it and I was just frustrated with myself. I wasn’t getting the job done, but just one of those plays.”
It all worked out in the end for Mets who rallied for a 7-6 win.
