One of the Dumber Plays you'll ever see, a breakdown
What Happened
In the top of the third inning, the Chicago Cubs hold a 1-0 lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates. With two outs and a runner on first base, the Cubs pitcher delivers a sharp strike to the Pirates batter. The count is now 0-2 as the batter just manages to foul the ball back to stay alive. Suddenly, the runner on first, Javier Báez, takes off for second base. The Cubs catcher attempts a pickoff throw, but the first baseman fumbles the ball, allowing Báez to reach second safely. observes this as "a little catcher-on-catcher crime" as the defense fails to execute the play properly. With two outs and Báez on second, the next batter hits a ground ball to the third baseman. Ian Happ, the Cubs first baseman, casually trots over to first base, expecting the easy third out. However, Happ inexplicably starts chasing after Báez instead of simply stepping on the bag for the force out. calls this "one of the dumber plays you'll ever see." Báez, realizing Happ has been baited into the rundown, smartly tries to prolong the play, believing that if the runner scores before he's tagged, the run will count. But quickly determines this strategy is flawed, as the run would not have counted regardless due to the force out situation. The Pirates players seem equally confused by the bizarre sequence, allowing Báez to eventually scamper home safely as the throw to the plate is late. To make matters worse for the Cubs, Happ then throws the ball past the first baseman on the next play, allowing another Pirates run to score. can only shake his head in disbelief at the "not a fun time to be the first baseman." After finally recording the third out, Ian Happ is visibly frustrated, lamenting "I wish I was on a beach somewhere relaxing" as a fan in the stands nonchalantly enjoys a beer. The Cubs ultimately surrender two runs in the messy inning, a direct result of the team's collective mental lapse on the field. promises the "dumb baseball" moment will likely be a topic of discussion on Happ's podcast, "The Compound," leaving Cubs fans to shake their heads at one of the more inexplicable plays of the season.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentcubs versus pirates top of the third
two outs runner on first cubs are up one
nothing
strap in one of the dumber plays you'll
ever see happen on the baseball field
nice pitch there for strike one swinging
strike two
o2 fouls it back to stay alive now the
runner on first
takes off for second they pick him off
no they don't he makes it there easily
little catcher on catcher crime two out
two strike
gone they got him on the pick off the
first baseman kind of
fumbles it no one covers second base
just sloppy all around
strap in hit to the third baseman over
to first
easy peasy third out all he has to do oh
hobby's running away from me i'll just
turn around
and i'll walk two steps and i'll step on
first base
because it's the third out and it's a
force out and that's all that matters
instead he gets baited and he
chases javi down the line doesn't make
any sense now i think what javi baez
is doing is he's trying to stay in a
rundown because he believes that
if the runner scores before he's tagged
the run will count but i just did a
quick google search of the rules
that say no the run still wouldn't count
because javi is forced to go to first so
he has to get the first before the run
to count
so at this point he could still just tag
hobby
he could still just tag abby bias he
could just run two more steps and tag
him now he's got him pinned
poppy buys us nowhere to go he throws to
the catcher who tries to tag the runner
out
he's called safe by both javi and the
ump the run scores
now he's got to get the first now if if
the second baseman was standing on first
waiting and they threw it to first and
got him out then that run still wouldn't
count because it's still a force out
but the second baseman the right fielder
no one on the pirates knew what was
going on
it gets past him it gets past the guy
backing up now javi's going to second
base they're gonna throw it over there
and he's gonna miss it he's gonna go for
the tag
instead of just catching it and hobby's
like i'm good right i'm good yeah yeah
you're good and they're just
belly laughing in the dugout you're like
how the hell
did the pirates fall for that how did
any of that
make sense rizzo can't control himself
how do you
try to even process what just happened
and it gets worse because that should
have been the last out of the inning
instead my dude hap throws one into
center field that scores
avi baez now he scores after all that
he's just smiling and laughing like can
you believe that
can you believe they fell for that one
then the next play goes to the first
baseman again
kind of eats him up i don't know maybe
it would have been a tough play but
still just not a fun
it's his glove not a fun time to be the
first baseman
finally they induced the pop fly to left
field
get out of the inning two runs later
should have been easy
out and he's going oh my god i'm so dumb
i'm having such a bad day
i wish i was on a beach somewhere
relaxing
and this guy in the stands just like why
don't you just be like me man
look at me getting some sun drinking
some beer
making some faces so yeah
great fan bad play ian hap he's on the
cubs he was part of this video he's got
a podcast on our networks called the
compound
they'll probably be talking about this
play and sharing a good laugh so be on
the lookout for that subscribe to the
compound
check out the youtube channel dumb
baseball