Thursday afternoon, Detroit Tiger legend Miguel Cabrera He was trying to become the 33rd member of the 3,000th baseball club. He went uninjured on his first three hits. On his fourth trip to painting, he was New York Yankees deliberately walked by.
Yes, the Yankees purposely walked on Meiji when he was chasing his 3000th career hit.
To be fair, the situation calls for an intentional outing. The Tigers advanced 1-0 in the eighth inning and were among the second and third runners-up with a difference of 2. Left-handed Lucas Lutegg He was on the hill and had to stay because of the minimum three hits. Hitting behind Cabrera was left-handed Austin MeadowsWhich amounted to .198 / .270 / .293 against the Southpaws last season. Strategically speaking, that made sense! The Yankees were trying to catch the tigers there.
“We got a lot of respect for Meadows behind (Cabrera),” Yankees coach Aaron Boone said after the game.video). “Just left on the left, I felt like the match – I liked it better in this case. Call me baseball for me there. Tough decision.”
needless to say, The decision was not popular With attendees at Comerica Park. The fans wanted to see the history and the Yankees and Boone heard heavy boos for the rest of the match. There was some poetic justice when Meadows dumped a center single to break the match.
Was Cabrera bothered by the deliberate walk? “No, the percentage in the base has gone up,” he told reporters. Including Athletic player Cody Stavenhagen, after the game. For what it’s worth, Cabrera was apparently telling the raucous crowd to settle down when he left the field after the eighth inning.
“A little more than usual,” Boone said, adding that he expected boos after walking Cabrera “…Yeah, of course. I definitely get that. You don’t necessarily like being in this situation, but that’s part of it.”
I think two things. First, intentionally walking with Cabrera was the right move in the course of the game. And second, it’s a move that people have a right to be angry about. The guy chases 3000 hits and we all want to see it! People in the stadium have the right to feel that they have been taken away from the opportunity to see history. I totally understand the boos.
“Boonie’s commitment is to his team and their chances of winning,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch told MLB.com’s Jason Beck after the match. “He had the match behind Meiji that he wanted. So you can see that coming. I know our fans responded accordingly, but I totally got it.”
Thanks to Meadows’ two-stroke single, the Tigers avoided a sweep on Sunday with a 3-0 win (Result square). Cabrera will continue to strive for 3,000 hits when Colorado Rockies Head to Detroit for a three-game talk series this weekend.
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