Francisco Lindor might be afraid of the Tropicana Field catwalks
The catwalks at Tropicana Field have been wreaking havoc on baseball games ever since the stadium opened to baseball in 1998. Not a Tampa Bay Rays homestand goes by without at least one baseball hitting a catwalk or getting stuck on a catwalk, forcing the umpires to enforce the stadium’s unique ground rules.
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Several of those occurrences have been documented right here at Big League Stew, including one last season that literally left Kevin Kiermaier hanging on the outfield wall. However, none of those occurrences were more amusing than the one that happened during Wednesday’s Indians-Rays game, and that’s thanks entirely to Francisco Lindor’s reaction.
Cleveland’s second year shortstop thought he was camped out underneath Desmond Jennings’ popup in foul territory. In fact, when the baseball came down, it would have been the final out in Cleveland’s 4-1 victory. That’s when the catwalk swallowed up the baseball, kept it as a souvenir and kept the Rays alive for one more swing.
Meanwhile, Lindor was a little more than perplexed. Then, when he realized the ball wasn’t coming back, he launched into a comedy routine that saw him ducking for cover and then playfully diving like he had a play after all.
Well, that, or maybe he was diving to safety in case something other than a baseball came sailing down.
Fortunately, the catwalks were secure and play went on, even if that baseball never returned. Just a few pitches later, Cleveland officially wrapped up its third victory of the season. But the thoughts of baseball fans were still on Lindor and his amusing reaction.
Yes, Francisco Lindor is, in fact, a thing. And that’s a good thing for baseball fans.
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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
