ST. LOUIS _ Second baseman Javier Baez and the Chicago Cubs no longer will need to worry about the white advertising panel that caused a distraction in Sunday night's loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
The panel behind home plate that altered Baez's vision and turned a potential double play into a single by Aledmys Diaz in the third inning will be changed soon, a Major League Baseball official confirmed Monday.
MLB officials had internal discussions regarding the play and the sign, which met MLB standards last season. But after further discussion that involved MLB's baseball operations department, the decision was made to change the signs with white backgrounds.
Diaz's hit allowed Dexter Fowler to advance from first to third, and Fowler went on to score and enable the Cardinals to take a 1-0 lead en route to a 4-3 victory.
After the game, Baez contended he didn't see the ball until it passed the mound, which made it too late for him to take a step to his left and be in better position to field the grounder.
