Cue shot: Cory Spangenberg put some english on this infield hit
There’s a reason your baseball or softball coach always stressed never giving up on a play.
The reason: Odd infield singles just like this one from San Diego Padres infielder Cory Spangenberg.
During Friday’s 1-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants, Spangenberg hit what appeared to be a typical foul ball off the end of his bat. Only it was anything but typical, or foul, by the time it came to a rest.
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The oddity happened in the first inning. Spangenberg was completely fooled by Tim Lincecum’s 2-2 changeup and did everything he could just to fight it off. The result was a cue shot down into foul territory down the third base. However, the ball had so much spin or english or perhaps even Spanglish on it, it actually took a right turn once it hit the grass and ended up spinning into fair territory about halfway between home and third base.
In fact, the ball was still spinning once it reached the infield grass. Giants third baseball Casey McGehee attempted to corral it, but couldn’t get a handle. Not that it would have mattered, since Spangenberg hustled down the line.
We’re accustomed to seeing hits, particularly bunts, that hug the line sometimes all the way to the base. But those are pretty much straight shots. This one was entirely different just based on the ground covered and the remarkable change in direction caused by the spin.
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It wasn’t quite as extreme as Brian Dozier’s physics-defying hit from 2012.
But it’s probably the wildest one we’ve seen since.
Legendary announcer Dick Enberg described Spangenberg’s hit as 1-in-100. We might go 1-in-1,000. It happens, but a lot has to happen for it to happen, and this time Spangenberg was the lucky one.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
