30 May Jose Bautista pulls off a play as sweet as it is rare

Who can resist this? Last night, Blue Jay right fielder Jose Bautista robbed Kansas City Royals’ designated hitter Billy Butler of a single, by throwing him out at first on a sharply hit one-hopper to right. (If the animated gifs don’t load in the e-mail version, you can see them here.)

About a third of the way to first, Butler puts his head down and digs, as the realization dawns he might be in trouble:

Also note Bautista’s somersault from the momentum of his throw.

A Baseball Prospectus article I can no longer find catalogs recent plays* in which a right-fielder zapped a batter at first, but pooh-poohs the phenomenon on grounds its victims are usually pitchers or weak hitters for whom the outfield was playing shallow. Not so Butler, a DH whose lifetime batting average is .295, with a slugging percentage of .451 and an OPS of .812. Bautista was  playing at normal outfield depth, and had to charge the ball hard. (Admittedly, at 6′ 2″ and 220 lbs., Butler is not exactly fleet-footed.)

In 2011, Royals’ right fielder Jeff Francoeur threw out Oakland A’s outfielder Michael Taylor in Taylor’s first week in the majors. The Expos’ Larry Walker performed the feat four times, once nailing the Jay’s swift shortstop Tony Fernandez.

In the MLB compilation below, the Royals announcer attributes the play to artificial turf, saying it would never happen on grass. Au contraire, Butler’s ball was a sharply hit one-hopper, and Bautista’s throw beats him by a full stride. It’s an out on grass or turf. (A 15 sec. ad precedes the video.)

Even when they are winning, the Blue Jays can be a boring team to watch, because so much of their success depends on home runs against a background of otherwise torpid play. Not this month. The really great thing about the Jays’ recent tear has been the combination of sparkling fielding, base-running, and hitting.

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* The BP chart is complete except for a 9-3 putout earlier this year, when Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Gerardo Parra nailed Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Don Haren at first on April 13. There were no 9-3 putouts in the Major Leagues in 2013.