Mariners explain what happened with player’s wall-climbing mishap against Royals
It’s understandable for Royals fans to feel frustrated about how the first half of the season has unfolded.
After advancing to an American League Division Series last fall, the Royals’ offense has struggled mightily this year and KC is 4 1/2 games back in the wild-card race. The Tigers hold a whopping 12 1/2-game lead on the Royals in the Central division and KC also is behind the Twins and Guardians.
But it’s been so much better than a couple of decades ago. Fans who were around in the early 2000s will recall the Royals having three 100-plus loss seasons in a four-year span.
Those teams made some plays that were so bad it was hard to believe they were real. First baseman Ken Harvey being hit in the back by an outfielder’s throw to the plate was perhaps the worst.
Another lowlight happen in 2006 when outfielder Kerry Robinson climbed a wall in Chicago to rob a home run ... only to see the ball hit the warning track and bounce over the wall.
The umpires were so thrown off by Robinson that they ruled the White Sox’s Joe Cred had hit a home run. Royals manager Buddy Bell had to convince the umps it wasn’t a home run just a really oddball play.
A similar situation played out Tuesday night in the Royals’ 6-3 win over the Mariners in Seattle.
Royals catcher Salvador Perez crushed a ball and Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez climbed the wall to steal a home run. Instead the ball landed in the field of play in front of him as he looked on with fans in the “J-Rod Squad” section at T-Mobile Park.
It was a double for Perez but in a fashion you don’t see often at the ballpark.
Mariners manager Dan Wilson explained what happened on the play.
“When he went back to find the ball, it looked like it had moved a little bit on him,” Wilson told the Seattle Times’ Adam Jude. “But I thought in general the wind was kind of funky tonight out there in the outfield. Looked like there were a lot of balls where guys were just unsure until the last moment what was happening.”
