Jacob Bauers somersaults, still gets picked off in AFL Fall Stars Game
Ah, baseball. If you’re on the television or a streaming device, we’ll always find you, we’ll always watch you and we’ll always find something to write about you. Especially when you give us memorable moments like this one from the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Star Game on Saturday.
Well, memorable for the viewers anyway. It probably wasn’t so memorable for Tampa Bay Rays prospect Jacob Bauers.
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You see, Bauers was picked off first base during the course of the West’s 8-3 victory against the East squad, which was plenty embarrassing on its own. Bauers moment managed to get a little worse though, as he stumbled about halfway down the line and went tumbling forward. At this point, he momentarily saved face, turning the tumble into a fancy somersault. The baserunning gymnastics weren’t enough to distract the defense though, as he was calmly tagged out.
Here’s another look.
For style and creativity, we give Bauers a solid 9. You just don’t expect to see that stuff on the base paths.
Unfortunately, for fundamentals and execution, we have to bring things down to a 4.5. First and foremost, you simply can’t get picked off in an All-Star game. Second, the somersault, while impressive under the circumstances, lacked crispness.
Yeah, we’re judging tough here, but our standards are pretty high. Had he added a handspring or back flip over the defender, then we’re looking at some high marks.
We should note that wasn’t the only cool highlight in the Fall Stars Game. Marlins outfielder Austin Dean provided some Alcides Escobar-style excitement, hitting an inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the second inning.
Apparently there’s no such thing as a stop sign in the AFL Fall Stars Game. Dean never stopped running and ended up sliding home safely when catcher Gary Sanchez couldn’t handle the relay throw. Not exactly a great moment for Sanchez either, but he would get his redemption one inning later when he connected on his own two-run homer own. The future Yankees star was named the Fall Stars Game MVP.
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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
