Luis Arraez Pulled Off A Perfect Tag Dodge And Forgot The Only Rule That Mattered

Luis Arraez successfully completed about 95 percent of one of the coolest plays of the baseball season and unfortunately discovered the missing five percent was the only part that actually mattered. The Philadelphia Phillies infielder hurdled Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz at home plate Thursday night, completely avoided the tag and then forgot the tiny detail where you have to touch home plate to score.

The Phillies still rolled to a 7-3 win over Washington, but Arraez briefly turned the first inning into an instructional Little League video titled Please Finish The Play. He had already doubled home Trea Turner when Alec Bohm ripped another double and gave him the opportunity to score from second.

Luis Arraez Beat The Catcher And Lost To A Stationary Base

Ruiz received the throw with Arraez charging toward the plate, so the three-time batting champion went airborne. And this was not some awkward stumble where momentum accidentally carried him over the catcher. Arraez legitimately cleared Ruiz, avoided the glove and landed safely on the other side.

For approximately two seconds, it looked awesome.

Then everyone noticed the problem.

Arraez never touched home.

Instead of immediately scrambling back toward the plate, he started walking toward the dugout like a man who had just completed his assignment. Washington realized what happened and finished out, leaving Arraez with one of baseball’s rare achievements: winning a collision without technically accomplishing anything.

It was like jumping over the final hurdle in a race, celebrating and then discovering the finish line was three feet behind you.

The MLB rulebook allows the defense to record an out when a runner misses a base and fails to return. This was not some obscure balk interpretation requiring three umpires, a law degree and a 45-minute replay review.

Touch home plate. That is pretty much the whole job.

Arraez Usually Makes Baseball’s Simple Stuff Look Ridiculously Easy

The mistake was especially funny because Arraez has built his career around making the hardest part of hitting look almost insultingly simple.

He rarely strikes out, owns three batting titles and has made an entire career out of placing baseballs into inconvenient locations while everyone else tries to hit them 460 feet.

Philadelphia acquired Arraez from San Francisco at the trade deadline, and his introduction to the lineup had already gone extremely well before Thursday’s adventure.

He recorded multiple hits in his Phillies debut and followed that by hitting his first home run with the team the next night. On Thursday, he immediately doubled in Philadelphia’s first run as part of an offensive explosion that produced 16 hits and eight doubles.

So this was not some catastrophic mistake that cost Philadelphia the game. It was much better than that. It was harmless, bizarre, and perfectly designed for replay.

Arraez successfully judged the throw, avoided a catcher wearing several pounds of protective equipment and pulled off an athletic move most people would hurt themselves attempting in their backyard.

Then he lost to a white plate that had not moved since the game started.

Baseball can be complicated. This was not.