PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s not something you often see, an MLB baseball coach who makes a mistake and then seeks out the media to explain what happened.
Such was the case in the Pirates clubhouse Tuesday night after third base coach Tony Beasley held Nick Gonzales at third on a ball he should have scored on and Ryan O’Hearn got caught in the middle and tagged out and the Pirates went from potentially scoring a run with an opportunity for more in the fourth inning to getting nothing against maybe the Cy Young Award winner, Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski.
With this unique situation, I want you to read exactly what Beasley said happened.
“It was a big play in the game obviously with Miz on the mound, we know runs are at a premium,” Beasley said after a 5-1 loss. “We had an opportunity to score a run. I probably had the worst view on that play of anyone in the house, from the third-base coach’s box.”
“I see the third baseman dive and from my view the ball hit his glove and disappeared. I didn’t see the ball again. I saw the shortstop and the third baseman and that was it in my direct line of sight, I’m thinking the ball is controlled, I got to stop Nick (Gonzales). I can’t let him get up and throw him out at home plate.”
“Well, I focus on Nick (Gonzales) and then I see O’Hearn rounding second, so I know something is weird then. I see the ball then, it’s in the outfield, but that’s too late.”
“I just had a bad view. I had the worst view in the house. I’m not known for being passive at third base, I don’t think so. Obviously if I saw that ball trickle, I’m going to score Nick.”
“It was one of those weird plays. It’s also a new situation being in the box, usually I’m up the line. Without the box rule, you see all that stuff and with the box, you can’t get up the line on that play. I can’t see, I got to stand my ground and make sure that the ball is either caught or gets past the third baseman so I can make a decision.”
Pirates lose 5-1 to Milwaukee after too many mistakes
“From my vantage, I lost sight of the ball. I saw the defender, I saw it touch his glove and I didn’t see the ball again. That’s what bothered me is because I don’t want to ever be in a position where I cost the players a run.”
“Yeah. It's tough,” Gonzales said. “Obviously, you want to score and playing against a really good pitcher, scoring runs is tough on that guy. I was upset and frustrated, but Beasley couldn't see it and that's not his fault. Just the vantage point he had, he couldn't see it, and obviously I have my back to the ball. So at that point, it's just — I got my head down, I'm running, and I'm looking for him. And if he sends me, I go. If he holds me, I stay.”
“But it's just a play that's unfortunate. [From] his position, you can see that the defender was right in the way of the ball and he thought he caught it. It just happens.”
But it happened when the Pirates are clinging for slim hopes for the postseason and every mistake feels magnified. Pirates manager Don Kelly said Beasley immediate owned the situation.
“It’s a really difficult play to keep the guy going when you really don’t know where the ball is at because the third baseman could’ve had the ball,” Kelly said. “There was no one there so maybe he could’ve kept him going a little bit. Just a really tough play when you don’t know where the ball is at.”
“It was a big situation because we score that run we probably have first and third with one out still,” Beasley said. “It’s one of those weird plays. Obviously, I’m always accountable for what I do or don’t do. That’s nothing to run from. It was just one of those situations where I was blinded. There was nothing I could do. I got to trust my eyes and try to make a decision.”
“I make my decisions and I live with them.”
It wasn’t the only mistake the Pirates made and may not have decided this game, but in mid-September it just seems so much bigger.
LISTEN to why Nick Gonzales was held at third
LISTEN to why Nick Gonzales was held at third
