A simple slow ground ball turned into a hilarious adventure for the Blue Jays on Friday night.
With Toronto leading the Rays, 4-2, and two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Tampa Bay’s Harold Ramirez barely got a piece of a Jordan Hicks fastball. The ball softly went past the mound and toward the left side of the infield.
However, the Toronto fielders botched what should have been a routine groundout. To make matters worse Toronto’s Matt Chapman inexplicably allowed Rays center fielder Manuel Margot to crawl and then dive over his attempted tag at second base after overrunning the bag.
Have a look for yourself at this madness:
What pic.twitter.com/VQdo8XAogw
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 23, 2023
Fortunately for Chapman and his teammates, the blunder didn’t lead to any runs for the Rays, and Toronto held for a much-needed 6-2 win as the club pursues a wild-card playoff berth.
Following the absurd play, fans on social media roasted the lack of routine fielding skills shown by major league players.
Here are some of the best reactions:
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) September 23, 2023
This is going on misplays of the month 😭 https://t.co/LAtDUpiAHI
— abbey (@bostonpizzafan) September 23, 2023
I don't even know how to describe this. #messy https://t.co/UQWMMOlUMB
— 🇨🇦🍁McWolf🍁🇨🇦 (@McFeenixx) September 23, 2023
This was embarrassing 🤦♂️#NextLevel https://t.co/9SEw0JPmkq
— '71 Habs Fan (@LeeHaire4) September 23, 2023
That has to be the worst tag attempt I’ve ever seen in my life
— Grant Whelan (@GrantWhelan5) September 23, 2023
Matt Chapman looked like he was being controlled by your friend that you invited over who doesn't own a console.#BlueJays
— Paul Frank (@pwgfrank) September 23, 2023
What the hell was that https://t.co/ms8N00AdLL
— . (@greys91) September 23, 2023
Incredible, beautiful, fantastic sport. Perfect. 10/10. https://t.co/DVu1SMXdyw
— 🌊🏳️🌈⚾🏳️⚧️💙 (@inplay_runs) September 23, 2023
