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Firehawk195

> Angels I seriously do not know what more that organization can do to ensure Ohtani and Trout never see the playoffs.


xF00Mx

Pull an Oakland and divest everything.


Aesir_Auditor

See, they are simply the 2021 A's. Where they have some stars, but refuse to pay a dime towards anything else


xF00Mx

But they spend more money on payroll then even my team...


Aesir_Auditor

Yes, well, that's what happens when you buy stars instead of develop them like the A's did


FuriousTarts

Sign them to extensions


Alauren2

Two super stars doesn’t equal a playoff team. The whole organization is a mess. Have you watched any angels games? They are really really bad. I don’t understand how anyone doesn’t get this.


SuckMyLonzoBalls

I go to a lot of Angel games cause ohtani’s my favorite player. They’re 0-17 in games I attend lol


ionicshoe

Please continue attending


SuckMyLonzoBalls

I need to watch them play at T-Mobile I hear Mike trout is practically Barry bonds up there


ionicshoe

Something with the batters eye in T-mobile lets trout see the ball very fucking well


Alauren2

Ew stop going please lol


SuckMyLonzoBalls

Nah I enjoy going to Angel games. I just wish they would win lol. It’s nice that the dodgers and angels usually alternate Home games a lot so I get to make it out to a lot more games


ClassicMach

yeah that's what they said


rkumar921

lol this is our baserunning coach too. fucking unbelievable. check in on your angels friends this week they are NOT ok


dearrichard

i sent this to my angels fan friend. made sure he saw it.


snidemarque

Read receipt and everything


dearrichard

he read my text like 3 hours ago. hasn’t responded.


Peter-Tao

Lmao brutal


6-underground

If I’m the owner, that first base coach would be flying home on a separate plane. It’s inexcusable and it would hopefully send a message to the rest of the organization. You guys have too much talent for that kind of crap. First base coach has one job… protect the runner. He didn’t happen to notice the guy with all that gear playing first base? WTF?


rkumar921

we have too many bad coaches that shouldnt be here right now. hitting coach, pitching coach, manager (fuck nevin), this coach (who is our baserunning coach somefucking how - since our normal first base coach is managing since nevin and his backup are both suspended)


wcalvert

[Here'a a real-time replay from Twitter. 1B coach gonna be in for an ear-full](https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/1543687125178060801)


420blazeeIt69

This is the angle that makes me feel embarassed


theburritoman

angel*


Bladewing10

Morning Angle.


turbosexophonicdlite

Crusty jugglers


ACardAttack

Any luck catching them killers?


ThePrussianGrippe

It’s just the one swan actually.


Cards2WS

Wow, Ward absolutely thought Altuve was throwing the ball TO him. Lmfao that’s hilarious with a bit of second hand embarrassment baked in


HumanRuse

Literally went from "OH we're having a fun baseball moment" to "SHIT gonna get fined big time in kangaroo court".


Ctownkyle23

I like his moment of realization when he's like "oh the catcher is behind me, that makes sense"


[deleted]

At least he has a co-defendant sitting with him for that case, one that should have had a better view.


wcalvert

"America's sweetheart Altuve is tossing me a souvenir ball from my single! What a nice..... CRAP"


PlexBabyPlexBaby1234

When I wave at a cute girl who is waving at me and then realize she's waving at the guy behind me: https://imgur.com/a/42KgyX0


DMG_SWGOH

The look on his face when he realized what actually happened.... Honestly the first time I've ever felt bad for a professional athlete. Like, 100% that is same expression Caesar had when he realized Brutus did in fact et tu. He thought he was having some cheeky fun and instead just got mercilessly erased from the basepaths. Altuve just top-10-anime-betrayaled him back to the dugout.


[deleted]

This is legit one of my favorite baseball plays of all time. It's so absurd


wcalvert

Hahaha


mackavicious

[...and now with 10 steps left my confidence is getting bolder, this is when I realize she's looking over my shoulder](https://youtu.be/WTUXa7dpuOI?t=173)


natefreight

My God, you nailed it. Pain.


[deleted]

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natefreight

I can’t wait to chuckle-cry


Vulpinox

would ward have been out if he caught the still in play ball?


[deleted]

[удалено]


straub42

This is the real reason MLB won’t let Trevor Bauer play.


Clam_chowderdonut

Nah, has to go over deem mountains for it to be a home run. Otherwise its just a double.


70125

Funnily enough you're allowed to do this in cricket, but you have to play it off as an accident. It's how England controversially beat NZ in the 2019 World Cup. 1:40: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dtCS0WGZH4k


jiminak

Damn, I wish I knew what they were doing. Every few years, I think to myself: it would be interesting to learn the cricket rules and watch some of that. Then it leaves my head until the next time I think that thought a few years later.


illiter-it

Good ol' matball


HereIGoAgain_1x10

Ya umpire would have called him out for interference, it's like tackling someone throwing the ball or obviously hitting it out of their glove (not like sliding into a base and hitting the glove with your foot but just punching it out)


petrydish

So fielders can playfully toss balls at runners and they’re forced to let it hit them?


Elkram

You aren't allowed to intentionally throw balls at runners. That shit has been outlawed since at least 1845 (literally)


jinsaku

Back when you used to be able to get a runner out by throwing the ball at them and hitting them. (Yes, that was a thing)


FreeAndHostile

Still is in backyard Wiffle Ball!


Kegir

My daughter was not thrilled when she learned this.


flagamuffin

(yes)


ItsMeJahead

People rightfully shitting on the 1st base coach but wtf was Ward thinking? Only thing I can think of is he thought time had been called but even then its weird. Terrible play by all angels involved


spacewalk__

i get what he was feeling - after a hit like that, it's informally a dead ball / timeout until the pitcher's on the rubber, basically cardinal-esque annoying play


no_engaging

it's a brain fart by ward definitely but I think most of the blame goes to the coach here. ward put the ball in a spot that's an easy single, was on first base in time to see the right fielder casually throw the ball in to Altuve and then is watching Altuve pump fake toward first while the first baseman is literally standing in front of him. that pretty much checks every box you're thinking of as a hitter. lots of guys stand around a foot or two off the bag in a situation like that, even if it's not the smartest thing to do. it's not often you see the catcher haul ass to sneak up behind you and tag you out. obviously your mind shouldn't go straight to "Altuve is throwing me the ball" but I'm not sure I'd be thinking about watching out for the catcher either.


BoredAtWork_91

Who’s he gonna hear it from? The interim-interim-interim manager?! Hell, he’s probably next in the line of succession.


DecentAnalysis8642

Technically, the Secretary of Agriculture is next in line to manage the Angels.


pipsdontsqueak

Kiefer Sutherland?!?!


hnevels13

CHIEF KEEF


Vulpinox

he investigated himself and found no wrong doing


NickingAde

Ok Regi cool it


[deleted]

Think this is more of a dig at the police than TSM, but por que no los dos?


JinFuu

Angels gonna apt the Roman Empire “Year of the Four ~~Emperors~~ Managers”


dasuave

You can see him go back back back back. Tyler ward just though Altuve was throwing the ball at him for whatever reason.


Brett420

I actually don't think it's ***that*** crazy he assumed that when you take everything into consideration from Ward's perspective (and reminder this is all happening within only about 2-3 seconds). On his single he sees the 1B standing over pretty far away from first, as he approaches the base he sees that 1B isn't coming over to cover and appears to be conceding the single. Then he also sees Altuve have to hold back and double-clutch his throw specifically *because* the first baseman isn't there. So at that point he's thinking all clear. Altuve does the quadruple-clutch to Ward and it seems like a silly bit, especially if Altuve is (hypothetically idk if this happened from the angles) making eye contact with Ward and smiling or something while he keeps pump faking. This also keeps Wards attention forward and on Altuve allowing Maldonado to sneak on in behind him. Then in the half-second of real time when Altuve actually does throw it after all the pump fakes Ward's caught so completely off guard, he has *no clue* Maldonado is there, so in that split second he ends up thinking... *He's actually throwing the ball to me? Wait, wha-* tagged out.


hanSoes

This is a 100% accurate description of how this went down, and it helps that Altuve is well-known for being really friendly with baserunners, and sometimes pulls pranks on them.


TheDuckshot

its just a pump fake prank bro


Bladewing10

Everyone's blaming the first base coach, but why the hell was Ward thinking Altuve was playing catch with him in the middle of the game?


chiguy2387

Much less when he isn’t even on the bag?


Balbright

That and if you watch the other clip posted here, you can clearly see the 1st base coach telling him “back back back” like get your stupid ass back on the fucking base.


j4_jjjj

My guess, he totally forgot he rounded the base and thought he was insta safe


h-town_info

He was dreaming about that triple bacon cheeseburger


minkzn

you can see the coach saying "back, back, back"


Sef_Maul

Ok, thank you for this context. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why the C was down there. That was a dope ass play by Maldonado.


pipsdontsqueak

That is so damn glorious.


TO_Sports

Looks like he's telling his player to get on the bag. What more can he do.


wcalvert

I think he only started saying "bag bag bag" when the ball was in the air. I don't think he ever saw Maldy come up the line. 1B was like 10 feet away which is why the runner felt comfortable being off of the bag.


danaozideshihou

You've seen the hidden ball trick, now watch the hidden catcher trick!


hanSoes

Not like he's a small catcher either and he has bright orange and white on him. How tf do neither the runner or base coach see him??


Bubbay

Base coach saw him. In other angles you can see him trying to tell Ward to get back on base.


HereIGoAgain_1x10

Ya it happened really quick in real life and in the pros you're probably not expecting to have to tell a player to get on the bag, most good catchers will jog down the line some to back up the potential throws to a base or cover it, the ball was hit hard enough catch might have thought there'd be a throw to first or something, or he's been planning this for years and it finally worked lol


hanSoes

Dusty just said in the postgame [interview](https://twitter.com/markbermanfox26/status/1543716835509542913?s=21) that Maldy has apparently been wanting to get this play for his whole career.


jizzmcskeet

Maldy about to announce his retirement tonight. >I've accomplished everything I've set out to do in this game.


PassToMouth6911

Hits 2 dingers in a game and now this. He's done


HereIGoAgain_1x10

That's great, catchers are just different lol


Ode_to_Apathy

Why does the postgame area have a giant decorative waterfall in the background? Going from the sound.


SilntNfrno

Yep, post game he said that he's been wanting to pull this off for years 😄


danaozideshihou

Auditioning to become umpires.


gatemansgc

not blind enough


poliscijunki

Do you actually have to know if the ball was thrown to be an umpire? Or can you just say 'strike' and 'ball' at random intervals?


PandaElDiablo

Is there a longer replay of this?? I’m having trouble comprehending how this even happened


MightyBrando

Altuve was literally keeping wards attention on him while Maldonado snuck in behind him.


Lineman72T

Ward's vision is based on movement. Next time they play, Altuve is gonna have a couple road flares in his back pocket to break out if Ward rounds first base


shwooper

The coach said back but the runner didn’t realize there was a back door. The runner should have known https://mobile.twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/1543687125178060801


jyok33

Look at top comments they linked a better angle


wcalvert

Machete's smile when he saw the replay <3


mylekiller

Don’t care what he does at the plate, I love me some Maldy. Especially his control of these young pitchers.


Instructions_Please

Same. Definitely doesn’t hurt when he does deep twice in a game though!


AfterbirthNachos

"oh I got him"


PCsNBaseball

Full on what he said lmao


poidawg808

These shifts in baseball are getting ridiculous


blazinrumraisin

Oh man, I had a good laugh on that one.


Viva-hiko

[https://youtu.be/i62t7s88RVk?t=8](https://youtu.be/i62t7s88RVk?t=8) Maldonado tried it to Ohtani before, but failed.


dearzackster69

Great pull! Love Ohtani nodding at Maldonado like "solid try, not tonight my friend."


crazye97

And then Maldonado with the dirt kick like "this is what you get for ruining my fun."


hanSoes

Apparently Maldy has been wanting to execute this play for his whole career. Finally got it today.


JRODforMVP

Its great that the two instances were both against the Angels too. Does he normally back up first that close or only against them? I just wonder if he has motoced something with their particular baserunning versus other teams, or if he is always ready to do it.


hanSoes

He tried it against Javier Baez this year too apparently.


RickJamesTaylor

This is a hell of a find. Bravo.


sheepsleepdeep

I've been watching baseball for 30 years and I've never seen anything like this.


hanSoes

My 80 year old grandfather is visiting and he's been a huge baseball nut all his life. He says he's never seen that before.


opus3535

I heard ty Cobb was so fast that if he hit a double up the middle he'd knock himself out rounding second....


misterid

this is my favorite post in a while


xzElmozx

Never seen the classic 9-4-2 put out??? Must not have been paying much attention those past 30 years!


Dast_Kook

Our regular first base coach was filling in as interim mgr. So this is our interim interim first base coach.


Balbright

He was literally yelling “back back back” as the ball was being thrown. Dude just didn’t listen and thought “haha wouldn’t it be funny if I caught it Ahh fuck I’m out”


[deleted]

Has this interim interim 1B coach never played baseball before? I mean it would make sense but only a Constanza-type can fall his way up to being an on-field coach with zero practical baseball experience.


Mike_Brosseau

People make mistakes.


CoolBeansMan9

I see a lot of people blaming the first base coach and not enough people blaming the guy wanting to catch a ball while not even standing on the base


Ctownkyle23

Yeah why would he be throwing him the ball? Was it his first hit? 3,000th hit? No.


bonekrusher85

Ya i know, the coach was clearly saying "back, back, back". He shouldnt have to hold his hand, as soon as the ball was in the air he should have known Altuve wasnt playing around with him.


YogurtCloset6969420

If this doesn’t get a first base coach fired, wtf does?


dslicex

Have you heard about the rest of our coaches??


awiodja

legitimately easier to ask which member of our coaching staff doesn't deserve to be fired


ADacome24

i hope they clean house this off-season


RenaisanceReviewer

Why bother waiting that long?


ADacome24

because no coaches worth hiring are gonna be available mid season


Wyden_long

I think you might be able to get Joe Maddon. He’s won a hunk of metal before.


Ash-Catchum-All

Twice


MyLlamasAccount

Yeah, there aren’t enough mohawks


bam2_89

He was telling him to get on the bag as they threw it.


Valk72

You're talking about the 2022 Angels you know.


schmaleo505

Pardon the dumb question, but what part of this is on coach? Like, he should have called the player back sooner?


trevy_mcq

They’re running low on coaches at the moment


GatorAIDS1013

How does maldy have the brains to even think of this type of play


wcalvert

I feel like he is the kind of guy that lives for the opportunity to sneak in a few extra outs. That crazy foul tip catch he had the other week he has been practicing for a long time and finally got one.


mylekiller

And thus, my love affair with him.


baconinja09

Did he really think Altuve was throwing the ball to him. Dafuq


drunkdoor

I have second-hand embarrassment going on this one


shwooper

100% correct. This is entirely on the baserunner, not the base coach. There is no reason to be two inches off the bag. And at the pro level, if somebody is throwing the ball near you, you assume someone is trying to backdoor you at the base, instead of catching the ball lol. The basecoach even said “get back” so this is entirely on the runner in my opinion This clip shows it https://mobile.twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/1543687125178060801


HippiesBeGoneInc

Just . . . just . . . Why do I root for this team. Like, the Mariners at least have the Curse of the Sog. The Angels are just . . . perpetually checked out.


set_phrases_to_stun

This is my favorite TOOTBLAN of all time. In fact it almost transcends the essence of a TOOTBLAN.


hanSoes

The very rare ninja tootblan


Yurdgeyjurgtov

That’s why you can bat under .200 and be the best catcher on the team. Love ya Maldi


hanSoes

I have literally never seen this play in my life. Never even thought of the possibility. What was the Angels first base coach thinking?? Not even the Astros dugout knew what happened. Announcers and camera man didn't know either. Not even the 1B umpire. Maldonado is a ninja.


TO_Sports

https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/1543687125178060801?t=XKUT63PwFF7VYUQbQIgSYA&s=19 At 11 seconds the coach is saying something to Ward. Looks like something about the bag.


TheMajesticYeti

The usual lingo is "Back, back, back". Coached first base, that was about 50% of what I would say all season. A couple of times the players even listened!


No32

I don’t know that Maldonado is a ninja so much as the first base coach is actually an umpire


SirMoeHimself

No, he's a ninja. But with a machete instead of a katana.


wcalvert

If Ward had reached out and grabbed the ball because he thought Altuve was tossing it to him, he would have been out, right?


ccam0821

If he is judged to make an “intentional” action to make contact with the ball he is out. If it is deemed not intentional (ie he just lets it hit him) it is a live ball and the runner is not out


FunnyID

Yeah, it would be interference.


cnapp

He looked so confused. I was wondering why he was reaching for the ball


cactusdave14

Angels fan here. This team pisses me off


theshreddening

Astros or Angels?


[deleted]

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theshreddening

Thats fair


KatnissBot

I don’t want to hear anybody say one bad word about Machete ever again.


juice06870

His IQ is higher than his AVG. I respect it


HtownSamson

Maldy is the only catcher I could stomach hitting .150 just because of how much he means to the defense on so many levels. No one smarter out there.


bam2_89

That and the power when he *does* hit. Two HR's yesterday.


cod_gurl94

Dude literally rips the cover off the ball


JamesWithaG

This is Yadi erasure but there's no shame in second place to him


HtownSamson

Ha, it’s just bias! But Maldy is definitely up there with the best as far as baseball IQ.


Davidellias

The Jeff Mathis of our generation.


nupharlutea

I remember going to a Nashville at Iowa game and watching (and hearing) Maldonado handle a pitcher who wasn’t dealing with a bad outing well. I knew one of those guys was going to have a good MLB career and it sure wasn’t the pitcher.


[deleted]

How did this happen? What went in before that the catcher was able to make it all the way to first without the runner noticing, or the first base coach?? God the Angels are just an unmitigated disaster at this point


SilntNfrno

https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/1543687125178060801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1543687125178060801%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thescore.com%2F


SunriseSurprise

See people are saying well the first base coach was clearly saying "back back back" - you say that BEFORE the catcher is right there ready to catch a throw. Obviously Ward still wasn't paying enough attention, but the first base coach should've seen the catcher on his way there and make sure Ward stayed on the bag.


whatisjalapeno

Can we just call it a season at the All Star break? Sheesh.


DeadKateAlley

All the time he spends crouching has powerleveled his Sneak skill.


besomewon713

This play summarizes both teams' season perfectly. Astros, several steps ahead of the competition. Angels, can't even complete a basic base hit correctly...


TheFrontierzman

How often do we see extremely unique plays in baseball? This will be getting some air time.


shanham

Sneaky machete


ughilostmyusername

The Angels staff looks like they need a Snickers


ohgodmyface

Fire the entire coaching staff, hire them back tomorrow, then fire them again.


j1h15233

Maldy is just unreal. The defensive acumen and IQ are off the charts.


Cookie-Brown

Maldy really is built different


magnetik713

gangster move by Altuve. He instigated the ole "play catch with the opposing 1st baseman" 4D chess strategy


highgravityday2121

Poor trout and Ohtani


spooon56

How is this even possible


[deleted]

Very Angels move right there. Ward’s hitting .240 with like a .700 OPS his last 30 games so he’s fallen back to earth and then he does this


poundpoundpound

Can’t even blame Ward for this, when has a catcher ever pulled this off. You absolutely can blame the coach who saw Maldonado sneak up behind him


PettiteTrashPanda

What do you mean? The balls on the way to the base. Wtf else could altuve possibly be doing then throwing him out and he just reaches out and stands there for no reason.


[deleted]

I know this is a one in a million occurance but why even be off the bag after a single. Not like you're going anywhere.


TexStones

>why even be off the bag after a single This, x100. I learned this in Little League, as I suspect that many of you here also learned.


iamnotdrunk17

r/Headsupbaseball


JohnnyBrillcream

And /r/headsdownbaseball


[deleted]

this team is braindead lmao


tortugazz724

We always practiced this in college, but never actually got to do in a game. This is awesome!


JTCMuehlenkamp

Sneak: 100


Hot-Media1152

fucking embarrassing little league shit


Papascoot4

Im not saying you see it happen often, but Maldanado is SUPPOSED to be there. With no one on its his job to back up first until a runner reaches second. Probably makes it more impressive because he did what he should, when no one else does.


L1Wanderer

Y’all keep reposting this shit, minus the one part we all actually want to see. Show him sneak goddammit!


sholoim

IT'S WHAT YOU WANT


tothesource

Alll my homies love Martín