Halphasian of the Day
And today's winner is... New York Yankee left fielder Johnny Damon (half-Thai), who made one of the smartest baserunning plays I've ever seen, at a crucial moment in a World Series game.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, the game tied 4-4, Damon battled Brad Lidge through a nine-pitch at-bat that ended in a single. The next batter was Mark Teixeira, batting left-handed, and the Phillies put on an infield shift: the shortstop moved to the right of second base, the third baseman moved into the shortstop's vacated spot.
Damon was off and running on the first pitch. Pedro Feliz, the Phillies' third baseman - but standing in the shortstop's usual position - took the throw from the catcher, which was low and slightly behind a sliding Damon. Damon was safe, he had stolen second base. BUT HE POPPED UP AND KEPT ON RUNNING. I was thinking "What the H?" (I hadn't realized the shift was in place) but Damon realized that no one was covering third base so all he had to do was outrun Feliz (not too difficult) and third base was his. He stole two bases on one pitch! I'm quite sure I've never seen that before. And then he scored the winning run on a clutch A-Rod double.
Damon is not known for being an extremely bright guy off the field, but he sure is a smart baseball player. Kudos to a member of the HAFamily.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, the game tied 4-4, Damon battled Brad Lidge through a nine-pitch at-bat that ended in a single. The next batter was Mark Teixeira, batting left-handed, and the Phillies put on an infield shift: the shortstop moved to the right of second base, the third baseman moved into the shortstop's vacated spot.
Damon was off and running on the first pitch. Pedro Feliz, the Phillies' third baseman - but standing in the shortstop's usual position - took the throw from the catcher, which was low and slightly behind a sliding Damon. Damon was safe, he had stolen second base. BUT HE POPPED UP AND KEPT ON RUNNING. I was thinking "What the H?" (I hadn't realized the shift was in place) but Damon realized that no one was covering third base so all he had to do was outrun Feliz (not too difficult) and third base was his. He stole two bases on one pitch! I'm quite sure I've never seen that before. And then he scored the winning run on a clutch A-Rod double.
Damon is not known for being an extremely bright guy off the field, but he sure is a smart baseball player. Kudos to a member of the HAFamily.