The flap over the short stop’s impolite grand slam is just the latest demonstration that some of the game’s traditions are ridiculous and out-of-date
If you had any doubts about the inherent silliness of baseball, note that Fernando Tatis Jr was just criticized for the crime of driving in too many runs. In a bases-loaded situation in the eighth inning of Monday’s game against the Texas Rangers, the San Diego Padres’ ridiculously talented young shortstop swung at a 3-0 offering from Juan Nicasio and deposited the ball into the stands for the first grand slam of his career. The problem, if there was a problem, was that his team were already up 10-3 and his manager Jayce Tingler claimed he had given him a sign indicated he shouldn’t swing at the pitch. Instead of being happy for the additional runs, Tingler was upset that his player had broken one of the game’s unwritten rules.
“Just so you know,” Tingler said after the game, “a lot of our guys have the green light [to swing on]3-0. But in this game in particular, we had a little bit of a comfortable lead, and we’re not trying to run up the score or anything like that.”
Fernando Tatis Jr.’s grand slam came when up 10-3 in the top of the 8th inning.
The last team to win when trailing by 7+ runs after 7 innings was the Padres on June 14, 2019 – a game in which Tatis played (beat Rockies 16-12). pic.twitter.com/75vkCwzQXd
The Padres’ win probability was 99.6 percent when Fernando Tatis Jr. came to the plate in a seven-run game in the 8th.
99.6 is not 100.
