It's the eighth inning and the Minnesota Twins and Tampa bay rays are locked in a five all tie. The Twins have a runner on third with one out. Mike Lamb hits a fly ball that's tailing into the left field foul area when in a flash speedy Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford comes running from his position and makes a great sliding catch. The only problem is he's in no position to make a throw, and delmon Young easilt tags up and scores the eventual winning run from third base.
It's one of the more unusual situations in baseball, but once in a while there's a ball that you're better off not catching. If Crawford lets it bounce, it's a foul ball, the game is still tied, and who knows what may have happened next. But carl did his thinking with his feet instead of his head, and the result was a Twins win.
Anyone can make a mistake, but Tampa Bay fans just might worry a little bit about their star outfielder's thinking process, becauase after the game, he said that he basically thought catching the ball was the right move.
"I still figured it was just one run," Crawford said. "Hopefully we could come back and score two runs ... I wasn't worried about that run too much but I understand what I did."
Keep in mind that Joe Nathan, one of the best closers in baseball, was already warming up as Crawford made the catch.
Thank, Carl. You just keep thinking that way.
Player of the Game: Joe Mauer, 3 hits and two baserunners thrown out attempting to steal.
Keywords: Carl Crawford, Delmon Young, Joe Mauer, Joe Nathan, Mike Lamb, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays
