Joe Maddon hasn’t found many allies over arguably the most stunning managerial decision he’s ever made.
The Los Angeles Angels skipper pulled off a surprise last week when he called for an intentional walk of Texas Rangers slugger Corey Seager with the bases loaded so they could face Mitch Garver.
Texas already was up 3-2 before the intentional walk, and it ended up getting three runs in the inning. However, the move wasn’t criticized as loudly as it otherwise would have been because the Angels ended up winning 9-6.
Still, it was a baffling move. And during an appearance on 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch lightheartedly shut down any chance of his squad making such a move.
"I’ve never seen it, we probably will never see it again because it’s only happened three times in 70 years with the intentional walk," Hinch told "Stoney and Jansen with Heather". "Joe does some things to keep you on your toes. I hate the intentional walk with a guy on second, so you can imagine what I think about the intentional walk with the bases loaded. …
"If you see me walk a guy with the bases loaded, you come down to the dugout and make sure that I’m still sitting upright."
That’s probably the consensus among big league managers.
Again, Maddon has had plenty of success in his career and is well-regarded around the game for almost this exact reason: he’s willing to look outside the box. In fact, of the three times that there's been an intentional walk with the bases loaded, Maddon is responsible for two: Seager, and Josh Hamilton. Buck Showalter called the other, which was on Barry Bonds.
Maddon might have just strayed a little too far from the box this time around.
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