Earlier on Sunday, the New York Mets basically handed the Pirates three runs when pitcher Taijuan Walker mistakenly tossed a fair ball away. It was the kind of mistake that you would expect from a last-place team like, well, the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The D-backs hold the worst record in baseball, and they’re 40-plus games below .500 because they repeatedly forget how to baseball. A player like Kole Calhoun can make a great catch one inning and then completely botch simple base running moments later.
During Sunday’s game against the Cubs, Calhoun hit a grounder to first with one out and the bases loaded. As Anthony Rizzo threw home for the force out, Calhoun went down to duck and avoid the throw. And then, he just stopped playing …
The Diamondbacks find a new and creative way to get no runs out of a bases-loaded situation, as Kole Calhoun forgets to run all the way to first base. pic.twitter.com/hpXTXD9ljw
— Zach Buchanan (@ZHBuchanan) July 18, 2021
Lord help this team… pic.twitter.com/lhD07FZUMe
— Cameron Cox (@CamCox12) July 18, 2021
Calhoun took a tumble as he ducked away from the throw, lost his helmet and went back to retrieve the helmet instead of running to first. He basically forgot to run to first as he collected himself after the fall. By the time he realized that he should be running to first, the Cubs turned the inning-ending double play.
You don’t see a bases-loaded opportunity end like that very often. Only the D-backs could make that happen.
