Amid the Twins’ extremely disappointing start to the 2021 season, they’ve also dealt with their share of injuries in the outfield. None more costly than center fielder Byron Buxton hitting the injured list earlier in the month with a strained hip.
In an effort to fill that void, the Twins have looked for journeyman utility player Rob Refsnyder to play center field and keep his hot hitting going. But it’s important to remember that Refsnyder is an infielder by trade and had only made a handful of outfield appearances in his career.
When you take that into account along with an unfamiliar ballpark in Baltimore, you get what happened during Monday’s game against the Orioles. Refsnyder ran right into a wall.
Refsnyder just got smoked by the wall. I am crying 😭😂 pic.twitter.com/HkmNzOWdWx
— Genaro Ciulla (@GCiulla24) May 31, 2021
When Ryan Mountcastle (what a name!) launched a fly ball to straightaway center field in the fifth inning, Refsnyder was tracking the ball and didn’t seem to realize he was running out of room once he reached the warning track. He want hard into the wall and fell as the ball carried easily beyond the fence.
That’s a spot where you want your teammates to communicate whether or not you’re running out of room, but still, Refsnyder probably should have known how many steps he had left once he felt the warning track dirt.
Thankfully, Refsnyder was fine after the collision.
He’s still learning the nuances of center field, and there’s no batter way to learn about warning-track prep than running straight into a wall. So, there’s always a silver lining.
