Chris Coghlan denied timeout, rips a game-tying single anyway

Umpires have a lot of power. Even with instant replay and challenges, they still dictate many parts of the game. The biggest is balls and strikes, but a close relative of that are timeouts at the plate. A batter can ask for time, but the umpire doesn’t have to grant it. Chris Coghlan learned this the hard way when his Chicago Cubs were taking on the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

It was the bottom of the sixth inning, which had been a busy one for the Cubs. The bases were loaded thanks to three singles, and with the Cubs down 2-0, Coghlan had a chance to really help his team. He was facing Carlos Martinez on the mound, and it was a long at-bat. After a called strike, Martinez threw three straight balls before he threw another strike. Coghlan fouled off the sixth pitch and readied for the seventh.

Just as Martinez started his pitching motion, Coghlan stuck his left hand behind him and called for time. But the umpire wasn’t having it. Martinez was already starting to throw, and there would be no time for Coghlan to reset himself. So Coghlan did the only thing he could: he broke out the emergency swing, the “whoops I’m not quite ready for this” swing.

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Turns out that Coghlan’s emergency swing is pretty good. He connected with the pitch and ripped it into right field, which scored two runs to tie the game. The Cubs would go on to beat the Cardinals 4-3 on a walk-off walk, and it could have turned out much differently without Coghlan’s “whoopsie!” swing. See, Chris?! You didn’t need a timeout at all!