There was a moment in last night’s World Series game that we probably weren’t supposed to hear.
Rays manager Kevin Cash walked out to first base, with Manuel Margot on base and dealing with a potential leg injury.
Cash asked Margot if he could go from first to home on his leg. Margot responded in the affirmative, also noting that he could take second.
“No, you’re not stealing anything,” Cash said back on a hot mic.
The only reason a first-to-home question would be relevant is if there was a line drive to the gap that fell for a hit. Especially if it went to left field.
The very next pitch saw contact that went as a liner to left-center. The ball was caught, but had it gone in for a hit, the “first-to-home” question would have been very relevant and very prescient. Instead, it was caught, and the runner from third scored, while Margot stayed at first.
In the next at-bat, Joe Kelly threw over to first to try and pick Margot off. The ball went wild and Margot stole second.
You could say that Cash and Margot were both right here.
Cash was focused on the first-to-home running skill, planning for that possibility, which almost came true in the next at-bat.
Margot was focused on his additional running skills, which became relevant when the original plan didn’t work out.
The takeaway? Keep your options open, and don’t try to keep Margot on first base.
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