Mallex Smith steals every base, a breakdown
What Happened
Mallex Smith of the Tampa Bay Rays steps up to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning with his team trailing by three runs. Despite his underwhelming offensive stats on the season - a .176 batting average and .252 on-base percentage - Mallex Smith is a known base-stealing threat, having swiped 25 bags already this year with only 3 caught stealings. The opposing catcher, knowing Mallex Smith's propensity for stealing, elects to walk him on a full count. Mallex Smith takes his lead off first base, ready to put his elite speed to work. On the very first pitch, Mallex Smith takes off for second base and the catcher's throw has too much air under it, allowing Mallex Smith to easily slide in safe. Undeterred, Mallex Smith immediately sets his sights on third base. The pitcher, aware of the threat, tries to pick Mallex off, but his throw to third is off the mark and Mallex steals the bag without a throw. The catcher, growing increasingly flustered, tries to catch Mallex stealing home, but Mallex slides in safely, completing a triple steal. The Tampa Bay Rays dugout erupts in celebration, with outfielder Dee Gordon laughing and applauding Mallex's daring baserunning exploits. The opposing team, meanwhile, is left shaking their heads, having been completely outmaneuvered by the speedy Mallex Smith. Mallex Smith is not done, however. He proceeds to steal second and third base again, giving him a total of four stolen bases in the inning. The opposing pitcher, a rookie, tries to pick Mallex off at third, but the throw is off the mark and Mallex scampers home easily, completing his incredible four-steal performance. As Mallex Smith dusts off his uniform and checks his chains, the Tampa Bay Rays dugout erupts in celebration, marveling at the sheer athleticism and audacity of their speedster. The opposing team, meanwhile, is left rueing their inability to contain Mallex Smith, who has single-handedly turned the game on its head with his dazzling display of baserunning prowess.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentthree-run game in the bottom of the
eighth-inning Malik Smith is up there's
one out and he walks him with a full
count which is impressively not smart
because on the year Malik Smith has a
252 on-base percentage a 176 batting
average he has 12 steals and 13 walks up
to this point and you just walk that
dude and this is your catcher 25 stolen
bases and only three caught stealing
this season not really having a good run
so Malik Smith is standing on first
getting his ken griffey jr. on gotta do
what you got to do and the first pitch
and he's off and that is a pretty brutal
throw a lot of air underneath that throw
a little bit of rainbow everyone knows
this and these easily safe that's the
scouting report so now he's got to worry
about him don't steal 30 well I'm gonna
steal third buddy oh no you better not
steal third well I'm probably gonna
steal third don't steal third well I'm
probably gonna steal clear it as soon as
you don't do what you keep doing and
yeah here we go I'm off and Mathis guns
him down but he's having her up here
throwing runners out and that was easy
as it gets
oh yeah that's used to be better at this
infield in because this run is so
important in fields in but they walk
Hanna ger and if you've ever looked at
my Twitter you would have the scouting
report that Malik Smith has played two
full seasons the mo beam has been thrown
out trying to steal home four times dude
loves to steal home and he loves to do
it on this pickoff play so don't throw a
pick off whatever you do young bird the
rookie pitcher don't throw no you threw
the pickoff you had to know safe stole
second stole third stole home Dee
Gordon's loving it happy as can be
laughing his ass off
what an idiot come on you can't let him
do that
Oh yep easy easy get out it had to get a
little dirty it was fun I mean does it
get any easier than that checking his
chains okay he's all good that's good
and that was only three of his four
stolen bases on the day