Joe Maddon is known for his high baseball intellect and visionary managing skills. Friday night in Texas, however, was not one of his finer moments. With the Los Angeles Angels down 3-2 in the bottom of the 4th, Maddon went to the mound and asked pitcher Austin Warren to intentionally walk Corey Seager with the bases loaded and only one out. It should be noted that Warren had come in from the pen the batter previous and walked Marcus Semien on four straight unintentional balls. Also, Seager was 0-2 on the evening.
The bold move didn’t work out in the Angels’ favor. The very next batter, catcher Mitch Garver, hit a ball close to the warning track in right centerfield that scored another run on the sacrifice fly. The ball was hit deep enough that the runners from both second and first were able to move up 90 feet. Then as Warren toed the rubber again, he was called for a balk that led to, yet another Rangers’ run. Adolis Garcia followed with a foul pop-out on the first base side of the infield to stop the bleeding for the Angels, with the score heading to the top of the 5th, 6 – 2 Rangers.
Los Angeles Angels pull out win despite Joe Maddon
The Angels’ bats wasted no time in getting the runs back as they too, put up a five spot in the next half inning. Los Angeles would go on to win the game by a final score of 9-6. The win was not because of Maddon’s managing but despite it. With the Rangers operating a bullpen day, the Angles hitters launched five homers, two of which came off the bat of Shohei Ohtani.
Friday nights bases loaded intentional walk is the third such play in the relevantly recent past and second one issued by Maddon. Both of the previous instances came as the team that intentionally walked the player with the bases loaded was leading and also occurred in the 9th inning with two outs.
Barry Bonds was famously walked by manager Buck Showalter, then of the Arizona Diamondbacks, in 1998. While the move had baseball fans bantering the pros and cons of the event, it is somewhat understandable to walk one of the greatest hitters of all time when he has a chance to end the game.
Maddon must feel a bit froggy when he is in Arlington, TX, as the other time that he called for the same move, also came on the road against the Texas Rangers. This instance was on August 17, 2008, with slugger Josh Hamilton at the plate. Hamilton had firmly established himself as, not only a great hitter, but a player that had a flair for the dramatic. Throughout the season Hamilton came up with big hit after big hit, and that was highlighted by his Home Run Derby performance at Yankee Stadium earlier that year.
The curious part of Maddon’s decision in 2008 was that Hamilton represented the tying run and brought the winning run up to bat. The choice in 2008 was a curious one that worked out, but the choice in Texas on Friday was flat out wrong. He put his team in a bad spot and showed little trust in his reliever.
The Los Angeles Angels can only hope that Joe Maddon will stay out of their way, and not overthink things the rest of the year.