It was the most debated play of the year in the Big Leagues of Baseball, perhaps the most dissected and discussed sequence in the history of baseball. World Series.
Should Isiah Kiner-Falefa have taken a bigger lead? Why did the third base coach draw a line on the ground right there? What if IKF had run to the plate instead of sliding?
“I’ll think about it until the day I leave this world,” lamented Toronto Blue Jays coach John Schneider.
About to dethrone the champion Dodgers in a vibrant seventh game. A couple of mere centimeters, a taco brand about to win the crown, right?
In fact, no.
Not that the sting lessened for the Blue Jays and their fans, but the intense drama about Los Angeles catcher Will Smith raising his beak off the plate and then readjusting to second baseman Miguel Rojas‘ throw home was moot: IKF was already out.
“After reviewing all relevant angles, the replay official definitively determined that the catcher’s foot was touching the plate when the ball came into contact with the inside of his glove,” read the official MLB report, which was recently provided to The Associated Press.
One last piece of the puzzle, one last look at a play that continues to fascinate the world of sports. Smith’s foot was on the plate when he caught the ball, and that’s when Kiner-Falefa was forced out.
How close did Toronto come to winning in the bottom of the ninth inning? Make it more like 3 feet.
“I never felt my foot come off,” Smith said this month in a World Baseball Classic practice session. “I didn’t really realize that (it was close) until I saw the replay, so I wasn’t trying to go back and touch it.”
The three-time All-Star said he had not seen MLB’s report from the replay center.
“I was just worried that he was out,” Smith said.
MLB Statcast doesn’t have an exact measurement — tracking data places IKF’s center of mass about 5 feet from home plate, his left leg was extended farther away.
“I’ve watched that video 3,000 times and 1,500 of them look like Will is off the plate. Do you understand me?” Schneider said at the winter meetings in December, a month after that 5-4 loss in 11 innings. “And the other half looks like it’s on. So, that’s how close it was.”
Kiner-Falefa signed with the Boston Red Sox last month. At his introductory press conference, his near-miss in Toronto remained a fresh topic. He was criticized throughout the preseason for his conservative 7.8-foot throw from third base. He said he would have been more aggressive if it weren’t for the Blue Jays’ mandate to stay close to the bag.
“I didn’t realize it was going to be such a close play,” he said. “If I had taken one more step, yes, I would have been safe. But I wasn’t.”
Turns out I needed a few more meters, not centimeters.
Rojas’ solo home run with one out in the top of the ninth tied it at 4. The Blue Jays loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half, with Kiner-Falefa at third base as Bo Bichette‘s backup runner.
As Daulton Varsho batted against Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, third base coach Carlos Febles used his cleats to draw a line on the base path, showing Kiner-Falefa how far to push his lead. It looked much shorter than usual, and many fans blamed that for costing Toronto the title. The Blue Jays said they were concerned about Smith attempting a pickoff throw at third.
Varsho hit a ground ball that caused Rojas to stumble back briefly, but he recovered to throw accurately home. After Smith caught the ball, his back right foot briefly went off the plate before being corrected. Kiner-Falefa slid home, focused on preventing Smith from making a double-play relay to first.
Plate umpire Jordan Baker signaled out, and the Blue Jays challenged the call. Replay umpire Dan Iassogna, a veteran crew chief who has worked three World Series on the field, confirmed the decision.
TV replays clearly showed Smith’s foot touching home plate again with Kiner-Falefa’s foot just inches away. Many fans assumed that was where the out occurred, but the official report confirms that IKF had already been erased.
Smith hit a home run in the 11th and the Dodgers won their second consecutive championship. He said he has replayed the moment at the plate in his mind several times, and gives more credit to Rojas.
“I think it was more of an impressive play by Miggy in that situation. A tough jump,” he said. “All I had to do was catch the ball and put my foot down.”
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Walker is a retired AP baseball writer.
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This story was translated from English to Spanish with an artificial intelligence tool and was reviewed by an editor before publication.
