John Ryan Murphy hustles for double, doesn’t realize ball was caught
If only baseball awarded extra points for effort. John Ryan Murphy’s hustle Monday night would have earned the New York Yankees at least a couple additional runs they desperately needed.
Instead, Murphy has absolutely nothing to show for it, except the little bit of embarrassment and exasperation he must have felt when he realized what had just happened.
[Play a Daily Fantasy contest for cash today!]
The Yankees trailed the Red Sox 2-1 heading to the bottom of the sixth. Murphy led off the the inning, lining a 1-1 pitch deep to left field.
It was well hit, but clearly not well enough as Boston left fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. – a terrific defensive outfielder – tracked it down on the run and made a fine catch.
Murphy was running hard out of the box and had his eyes on extra bases. He reached second without a throw – because, y’know the ball had been caught and there was no play to be made– and asked the umpire for time as he went down to remove his shin guard, which is when he was informed he was out.
“I was standing on second base taking my shin guard off, asking the umpire for time. So I thought it was a double,” Murphy said. “I asked him for time and he said, ‘You’re out.’ Yeah, I had my head down, trucking, trying to get there, but he caught it, so great play. Nothing you can do.”
[Check out Big League Stew on Tumblr for even more baseball awesomeness.]
Nothing you can do is right, Mr. Murphy. Expect your fine in kangaroo court to be a hefty one.
It’s the same situation his team finds itself in. After losing to the Red Sox 5-1, no matter what the Yankees do the rest of the regular season, they’re going to be hosting the American League wild-card game next week, barring a complete collapse by the Blue Jays.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
