Video summary
The video highlights a frustrating start to a baseball game where communication breakdowns and defensive errors lead to unexpected plays. The inning begins with pitcher Rocky facing batter Ben Rice, who immediately complains about not being able to hear the pitch clock audio due to the crowd's excitement for Aaron Judge. Despite the umpire issuing a warning for a pitch clock violation after three seconds elapsed, the count goes to two balls before a hit by pitch puts a runner on first. The situation escalates when Aaron Judge finally steps up to bat after a long absence, but his at-bat ends in a swing-and-a-miss, leaving the bases loaded and setting the stage for a chaotic defensive sequence.
The pivotal moment occurs with Luis Garcia Jr. at the plate, where a soft fly ball is mishandled by outfielder McCarthy, bouncing off his glove and shin before he attempts to throw it back to hold the runners. However, catcher Hunter Goodman fails to track the ball properly after mistakenly signaling for a play at second base, allowing the runner to advance all the way to third. As the ball rolls slowly toward home plate, the defensive alignment shifts because the pitcher and first baseman are positioned to cover third base rather than backing up the catcher. This lack of situational awareness allows the run to score despite the throw eventually reaching the area, resulting in an error that McCarthy cannot avoid.
The aftermath of the play reveals a complete disconnect between the fielders, with McCarthy expressing disbelief at Goodman's failure to follow the ball and the runners displaying comical behavior by stopping to chat on the base paths. The narrator explains that standard defensive protocols usually involve the first baseman cutting inside and the pitcher backing up the catcher for plays near home plate, but the unexpected shift in the play left them out of position. Ultimately, the inning ends with Hughes striking out Spencer Jones to strand the runner, leaving the team to deal with the embarrassment of a run scored through a combination of poor communication, a dropped ball, and a failed defensive adjustment that turned a routine situation into a memorable blunder.
Read the full video transcript
Rocky's had a frustrating start to this
game. It led to a play you don't see a
lot. Throwing a ball to no one. We'll
get there. First, Ben Rice is leading
off. He's locked in. He's focused. The
first pitch is a ball. The second pitch
is a strike. This one's brought to you
by SeatGeek. And then we've got strike
two. Here's where it gets fun. He's
like, "I can't hear you. I can't hear
anything you're saying." They're having
communication issues on the pitch comp.
Umpire doesn't care. He says there was 3
seconds left on the pitch clock. You
can't use that as an excuse now. You're
getting violated. Violation. That's
going to be a ball on that guy. Two and
two is the count. Okay, bad start. First
batter. And you're just granting them a
ball. Deep breath. Let's gain focus.
Let's get back into it. Oh, and Ben Rice
says, "That hit me in the foot." So, I
go to first, right, Blue? And Blue's
like, "Yes, you do. Yes, you do. You're
honest and I trust you. Do you guys want
a challenge?" And they're like, "Well,
we'll look at it. You guys going to look
at it?" And they're looking at it and
the guy's uh
thumbs down. Not good. They must have
found something in the replay. Let's see
what we can find. Zoom in. We got Boon
blowing a bubble. We got this couple
just a nice kiss at the game together.
First batter. And then, oh, let's zoom
in. Let's enhance. Let's slow it down.
Oh. Ow. Here's the live audio. Ow.
Shoot. Hit him right in the foot. So,
bad start. Pitch clock violation. Hit by
pitch. Runner on first. Bellies up. He's
concentrated. That's a ball. The next
pitch. Ground to first. Little bounce
pass to second. So they don't turn two.
But you'll take an out. Now a big
moment. Aaron Judge his first at bat in
99 days. He missed three months. So the
stadium is on their feet. The phones are
out. They're clapping. And the social
media handles are pinned onto the
clothing. Aaron Judge focused. eyes
clear. First pitch
was a ball and then calls for the He
couldn't hear you. Do it again. Does it
again. He's like, I can't I I can't hear
anything. Turn it up. Turn it up. Oh,
thanks goodie. That's That's what's
happening. I'll just turn the volume up.
He's like, "It's too loud. They're too
excited about Judge. I can't hear shit."
Umpire's like, "Okay, well, uh, we'll
get you a new pitchcom, I guess." He
says, "Yeah, it'd be great." Now the one
to judge not working there and then
that's not a great pitch but it's fouled
back and then another little slider and
then gets him with the force seam. I
like the force at the end. Good pitch.
Judge down swinging. He's going to spit
out his gum and get a new piece cuz
that's a superstition he does. See he
spits it out and he hits it. But now
here's the big play. Luis Garcia Jr. up
at the plate. The first pitch is low.
The second one he's just going to float
into the outfield. soft enough to drop
in. It's off the glove. It's off the
foot of the outfielder, McCarthy. He
grabs it and just throws it in to hold
the runners. Let's Oh,
Goodman turned off. The catcher went
blank and the Yankees score the first
run. Now, look at that spin. Maybe this
spin had the ball bouncing a little
different than anticipated. Here it goes
off the heel of the glove and then the
shin and then the toe. and he kicks it.
That's not fun at all. Now he's like,
"Let's just get this in. Let's hold the
runner at third. I'm just going to throw
it in. Catcher will get it." Uh, Goodie.
Goodie. Goodie. Hey, what are you,
what's going on, Goodie? What are we
doing? Goodie, what are you doing?
McCarthy can't believe it. He's going to
get the error on this play. He's doing
his job just throwing it in to hold the
runners. Hunter Goodman, the catcher,
was not expecting the throw to come to
him. McCarthy's like, "What are you
doing?" I'll tell you what happened.
Here's the overhead. We don't have a
shot of uh Goodman's face, so you can't
really see the eyes. But here's what
happened. As soon as the bobble happens,
you can see the catcher Goodman point to
second. He says, "Plays at second. Let's
hold the runner to first." I guess that
was never going to happen, though. But
once he points and says, "Plays to
second." I think he thinks that message
is going to get relayed or just
everyone's on the same page as him. This
ball is going to go into second. So then
he just stops paying attention to the
play and uh following the ball at all
and then it goes past him. So he was
like plays at two and then the play
didn't go to two. The base running shots
are very funny. Cody Melinger gets to
second and then he sees the bobble.
Okay, that's going to get him to third
and then he slows down at third. Good
third base coach by Rojos here. He's
like, "Hey, watch the ball. Watch the
ball. Watch the ball. Watch the ball.
Go." And the third baseman, goody goody,
goodie. and then belly is off. So, you
know, good third base coaching by Rojos.
Got to watch the play. Watch the play.
Don't give up on it like they did. This
base running is even more fun. We've got
the shot on Luis Garcia Jr. running to
first. Always reminds me of Austin
Powers on Mini Me's shoulders. Just
small steps, big arms, and then he's
like, "Okay, I'll get to second. Here we
go." And then he's going to say hi to
his buddy. What's up, buddy? Old pal.
How are you doing? Good to see you. Hope
you're doing well. And then he's going
to celebrate. Oh I got to keep
going. The play's not over. and he gets
the third, slides in, and then he's
going to get up again and be like,
"Maybe I go."
No. Okay. So, it goes from a single to a
single, and then he's there, and he's
there, and McCarthy's like, "All right,
what do I play for the next guy? Does it
matter? Does anything matter? What a bad
start." It's a pretty normal play. The
problem is usually if there's a play to
home, the first baseman will cut in the
middle and the pitcher will back up the
catcher. But because this play was not
to home, it was originally to third to
stop the runners. The pitcher is going
to back up the throw to third and the
first baseman is just kind of trailing
the action. Once he bobbles it and they
advance, now the throw is coming home
and really the pitcher and the first
baseman are out of position to be in the
middle of the diamond or backing up the
catcher because it shifted on the fly
like that. So you need your catcher to
be paying attention and he he was not.
So that ball just trickles past him very
slowly and it allows one run in a just a
pretty frustrating inning. Hughes is
able to get the next batter out. He
strikes out Spencer Jones. So that
runner on third gets stranded and then
all the school children have to walk to
the dugout and report to the principal
who is just he's ready to give him a
little asht chewing. Rocky's bench guys.
Don't mess around. No one got benched
though I don't think. But if it was
Carrick, maybe if you want to go to a
stadium, see something weird like this
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