Thought #1: Assessing Fault
Who’s Fault Was It?
So who’s fault was it on the play? People are saying it was Marisnick’s fault or Lucroy’s fault.
But there is really one answer:
No one!
It wasn’t Marisnick’s. Was his decision to go inside a bad one? Possibly because it was only a split second too late. Could he have gone outside the catcher to score? For sure! But what if he missed the plate entirely? He would have to slide back in safely with the possibility of Lucroy waiting to tag him out.
It wasn’t Lucroy’s fault. He expected the ball to get to where he could catch it and apply the tag. But the throw wasn’t on point and he put himself in that position not realizing Marisnick made that decision to go inside. It was just impossible to stop and it was a bang, bang play.
Now it sounds like I’m blaming Calhoun for the throw. But I’m not. It wasn’t his best throw as an outfielder. Yet, that played a key role in this play.
Ultimately, Lucroy was carted off with a broken nose and a possible concussion. This was sad because he had planned to attend a funeral for a former coach of his. As for Marisnick, he was called out by way of replay because of MLB rule 7.13, which states “a runner attempting to score may not deviate from his direct pathway to the plate in order to initiate contact with the catcher (or other player covering home plate).” Violate this rule and you are out. So that’s why the run was taken off the board.
Bigger Disappointment
Looking at the comments from social media and the TV, there are lots of people in support of Jake Marisnick praying for Lucroy’s recovery.
Marisnick tweeted this out:
Through my eyes I thought the play was going to end up on the outside of the plate. I made a split second decision at full speed to slide head first on the inside part of the plate. That decision got another player hurt and I feel awful. I hope nothing but the best for @JLucroy20
— Jake Marisnick (@JSMarisnick) July 8, 2019