01 Jun He did it again
On Friday, I paid homage to Jose Bautista, the Blue Jays’ right fielder, who accomplished the rare feat of throwing out a batter at first base the previous night. According to MLB.com, it was only the sixth time since 1974 that a 9-3 putout had been recorded in the American League.*
Later Friday night, Bautista did it again, cutting down Kansas City Royals’ second baseman Omar Infante on a pop fly to right. Infante initially thought the ball was foul, and turned his back on the play while still in the batter’s box. Bautista tried to make a sliding catch, but succeeded only in smothering the ball, by which time Infante had realized his mistake and taken off for first. Bautista came up with the ball and, for the second night in a row, fired a bullet to Jays’ first baseman Edwin Encarnacion, easily beating the runner.
The video below recaps both plays: Friday night’s sequel begins at 0:35 sec. (Click image to play.)
Royals manager Ned Yost was gracious in his praise:
“I don’t know if you’ll see a better play in baseball today than that,” he said. “Omar lost the ball, he thought it was foul. And for Bautista to come and smother the ball and still see that he had a play at first base, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a play like that.”
And:
“The last time we saw it was when [Jeff] Francoeur threw out the guy in Oakland. And I might have seen it three times in the big leagues. But to see it twice in one series? That’s unheard of.”
For a right fielder to record 9-3 putouts in consecutive games is beyond odds-defying. It has never happened before in Major League history.
Here’s a 2013 Baseball Prospectus piece recapping the 27 9-3 putouts that occurred between 1990 and the end of the 2013 season. Add Bautista’s pair, and another recorded this April by Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Gerardo Parra, who nailed Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Don Haren at first, and the total comes to 30 since 1990.
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* It happens more often in the National League, where there is no designated hitter, and pitchers often come up to bat. Because pitchers tend to be terrible hitters, the outfield plays them shallow, bringing the right fielder closer to first. A 9-3 putout is still exceedingly rare, even in the National League.