Only in baseball is there such a thing as a “routine” play. The term refers to a live ball situation that is so simple—whose outcome is so secure—that it shares a name with the same word used to describe a morning ritual as mundane as making your bed or brushing your teeth.
At first glance, the ground ball from Marlins first baseman Josh Bell in the bottom of the fifth inning of Monday’s game against the Astros appeared to be routine. The result was anything but.
What looked to be a surefire, inning-ending groundout instead turned into one of the leading entries for best blooper of the season, as Houston second baseman Mauricio Dubón made a mess of the throw and allowed the runner from first base to touch ’em all to score and give Miami the lead.
Routine play turns into a run for the Marlins 😬 pic.twitter.com/r9dK7ceqCC
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 16, 2023
The ball left Bell’s bat with an exit velocity of just 67.7 miles per hour, per Statcast, with an expected batting average of only .070. But as the great Han Solo once said: “Never tell me the odds.”
The Astros got the last laugh, though, eventually storming back to notch a 6-5 win. While that’s the most important result they’ll care about in the Houston clubhouse, it also means they should be able to laugh about that blunder as soon as possible.
