On July 25, the Cubs played the White Sox. Down 4-2, Baez leads off the 9th with a double, and with no outs, steals third. If he’s out, the game is probably over. Then, with a man on first and no outs, down 4-3, Bryant singles the runner to third, so it should be first and third, no outs, with great momentum. But, Bryant tries to stretch it into a double with no outs, and is out at second, ruining a potential big inning. And, Bryant goes in headfirst and is shaken up. He’s already been hurt doing that. The Cubs tie it and have two on, but don’t score and eventually lose the game 5-4. The Bryant play hurt them and could have cost them the game, and it’s not the first time he’s done that. Whether it’s him and Baez, or the coaches, I keep saying this is absolutely inexcusable. They ran themselves out of innings last year and also this year, and Maddon doesn’t get it. He will probably say he’s glad the players are aggressive. It’s not aggressive, it’s foolish. I blame Maddon for not setting these rules and continually losing games as a result.
I’ve pointed out before that the only reason I can think of to make an out at third or home is if there is a runner on third, one out, the batter hits a fly ball that will be the second out, and it would take a good throw to the plate to get the runner. Other than that, the risk/reward differential is huge, the runner is already in scoring position, and I believe runners should not attempt to go to third or score unless the chance of being safe is 100%. Regarding the headfirst slide, I’ve also said that managers should not allow their players to do that due to the risk of injury.