It was a scenario that San Diego Padres center fielder Trent Grisham had probably imagined before:
Bases loaded, two outs, full count and you’re down by one in the bottom of the ninth. Outside of postseason baseball, you won’t find many situations with more drama and tension than that.
But man, you have to think that Grisham would have imagined handling that scenario better than he did on Sunday.
During the Padres’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Grisham was up at the plate against Devin Williams with a chance to tie or win the game for San Diego. It’s a count that the hitter has to be prepared to swing because he knows the pitcher needs to throw a strike. That’s what made the result so shocking.
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Bottom of the ninth
Down a run
Bases loaded
Two outs
Full countThe last time a batter struck out looking in this situation (before tonight) was back in 2006. pic.twitter.com/pQkOUmPSwy
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 17, 2023
Grisham watched as a 94 mph fastball caught the upper portion of the zone for a game-ending strikeout looking. It was nearly the same pitch and location that Grisham fouled off on the previous pitch, but for whatever reason, he didn’t swing the bat when he needed to.
According to Codify, it was the first time a batter had struck out looking in that exact scenario since 2006 — 17 years!
Grisham had to be swinging there, and fans couldn’t believe he let that pitch go.
This was how Twitter reacted
It was legit middle middle how do you not swing? https://t.co/IU0DWEPey9
— Ŧ x Sports🌵 (@TxSportsHub) April 17, 2023
Got the worst kind of flashbacks from this… https://t.co/OH5STr67bz
— Jackson Roberts (@JrobertsTV_) April 17, 2023
That’s just pathetic. https://t.co/iegnVlRZxm
— FIRE MIKE TOMLIN (@CarterJackson19) April 17, 2023
I’m sick of the Padres being walk merchants https://t.co/sD7GS5apkF
— Nick Lee (@NickLee51) April 17, 2023
Look kids, this can NEVER happen. Hard to believe a professional doing this. https://t.co/C2x7Z8ANuO
— MLBeFUN (@MLBeFUN1) April 17, 2023
I mean what exactly was he looking for here? You know he was gonna groove one. https://t.co/NLfSDTqqoQ
— NickName (@nickname897) April 17, 2023
Yeah I can’t go down looking. That’s a backwards K. Ima always go down swinging. https://t.co/n6q8SgYrqx
— Rich Ωue 🐶⚾️ The Equalizer🥋 (@iBaseball_1) April 17, 2023
This is literally the scenario you make up in your head when you’re a kid playing ball in the backyard with your dad / friends https://t.co/fdFoheiDJR
— Yon Alexei (@YonAlexei) April 17, 2023
That seems amazing. 17 years! https://t.co/M7QDH9JBtq
— Brent Martineau (@BrentASJax) April 17, 2023
