Mets' Frazier: Tricked umpire with wrong ball
New York Mets third baseman Todd Frazier admitted Wednesday that he tricked the third base umpire during Monday's game into thinking Frazier had made a spectacular catch for a foul-ball out. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Alex Verdugo popped the ball up near the stands to Frazier's side in the bottom of the second inning, and the third baseman appeared to make a terrific running catch before tumbling over the wall and into the first row of seats at Dodger Stadium. However, Frazier said Wednesday that the ball he came up showing to the umpire -- as evidence of his "catch" -- was actually a rubber one he found in the stands. "It is Hollywood," he said. "Sometimes you've got to act out a little bit." Frazier indeed got the out call from third base umpire Mark Wegner, and then tossed the rubber ball back to a fan with nobody the wiser, except for maybe an onlooker or two. "I was trying to get out of there as quick as possible," Frazier said. "I saw someone pointing at the right ball and I was like, 'All right, I'm just going to have to play this off.' I got in the dugout and was telling people I was flabbergasted that I even got away with it." The fake-out provided the first out in a 1-2-3 inning, and the Mets went on to win, 4-2. --Field Level Media
