Up 4-2, bottom of the ninth, bases loaded with one out. Single to right field, but the runner at third held up to see if it would be caught, and then stumbled, while the runner from second took off on contact.
Check out the video.
I haven’t seen this play analyzed. Here are my thoughts:
I don’t think Castro thought about the force play at the plate. He should have had his right foot on the plate and stretched first baseman style for the ball. That should have gotten one out, and prevented one run. Extra credit if he could have then made a sweep tag on the back runner, for a game ending double play.
Instead Castro treated it as a tag play. Worse, he was standing on the plate enough to be bowled over, but not actually blocking the plate. The worst of both worlds. He got hit, his ankle twisted, and he dropped the ball. He should have only had that back foot on the plate. No guarantee that he wouldn’t have dropped the ball anyway, but I think he would have had a better chance of holding it. Also would have had a better chance of getting the call, that he recorded the force out before dropping the ball.
I’m glad that Castro’s our starting catcher. But I have to wonder whether or not Schneider would have made the play.
I have to wonder about one other thing too. What if Castro had gone all John Stearns on the lead runner. Background: Met catcher John Stearns was a former college football star and MVP Dave Parker tried to bowl him over. Parker had to wear a football helmet the rest of the season to protect his broken bone.
Anyway, what if Castro had blocked the plate, knocked the lead runner backwards, and the back runner had passed the lead runner. Would that have been a game ending double play? I’ve gots to know. Maybe I’ll ask WikiAnswers AND the Mets Mailbag.
