It’s the game of the day. The Padres are traveling to Washington, DC. It happened on the last day of a three-game series against the Nationals. That’s right. This is the game where Kim was hit by a pitch and writhed in pain.
In the bottom of the first inning, the home team bats first. Lane Thomas is up first. SD starter Blake Snell throws him a five-pitch fastball (95 mph) up and away. The timing is right here. A 100-mph clothesline to the third baseman.
Awesome Kim makes the catch. But it’s no match. It was too fast and too low. The ball slips out of her glove, but her timing is good enough. With his quickness, he catches it and throws to first base. You know the drill: his perfect shot. Safe + bullet delivery to the door.
But then something unexpected happens. The receiver is not there. The first baseman is standing a few steps away, looking on. He probably thinks the third baseman caught the ball himself.
The fly ball has nowhere to go and flies past its destination to the front of the dugout. In the meantime, the batter has rounded first base and advanced to second. The mistake is costly. One out later, Joey Meneses singles and the runner from second comes home. The Nats take the lead. (O’Dowd’s three-run homer in the ninth inning put the Padres back in front.)
This play is on the chopping block. One media outlet did. It came from FORTHEWIN, an online outlet under the USA Today umbrella. The headline read. “Kim’s play to empty first base epitomizes Padres’ embarrassing season 먹튀검증.
The content is exactly what you’d expect. “San Diego made a huge investment. They made some big signings during the offseason. They were supposed to compete with the Dodgers for the NL West title, so they shouldn’t be in a standings battle with the last-place Rockies. But this game shows why they’re struggling this year.” The argument goes something like this.
There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a mistake that shouldn’t happen at the professional level. The primary responsibility lies with the thrower. It’s common sense to make sure there’s a receiver. The official record is hits + errors. It was an infield hit to first base and a throwing error by the third baseman to second base. It was his third error of the season. He’s made one at second base (260.2 innings), one at shortstop (36.1 innings), and one at third base (112 innings).
But let’s break it down: who’s really at fault: the third baseman who threw to an empty bag or the owner of the base who left first base unoccupied?
First, let’s break down the play. The line drive was almost caught. But it doesn’t. The diving third baseman catches the ball and spins in a full circle. To create a throwing motion. As you know, the first baseman is a fast runner. He has to shoot without breathing. I wouldn’t have time to look. No, you have to assume there’s someone on first base. If there was, it would have been an easy out.
The video went viral on social media. Comments and retweets were flying. Some of them were similar to the media’s take on Foderwin. A mix of self-help reactions to the team’s current situation. “What the hell is going on,” “That’s so Padres,” “I can’t believe we’re doing this with all those good players.
But a lot of the time, it’s about blame. “Why was that a third-base error or a first-base problem?” “That was a perfect throw,” “Did the scorekeeper see it right?” “They shouldn’t have given Crone (Cronenworth) that big of a contract,” “We’re in the Crone Theater,” “I miss (traded first baseman) Eric Hosmer,” and so on.
Of course, comments aren’t everything. The answer is always in the field. This is a screen shot from the WSH broadcast of the match. It’s just after the end of the game. The home team broadcaster and commentator are chuckling. The camera zooms in on the three players involved. The third baseman looks at the bench. The first baseman looks to the far side of the outfield.
The deciding factor is the pitcher. He is a direct victim. He recognizes the situation more clearly than anyone else. Blake Snell stumbles to the mound. He receives the ball from Gusim and stares at Cronenwirth for a long time. It’s like he’s shooting something with his eyes. I’ll leave it to your imagination to decide what that means.