Twins outfielder tricks umpires into thinking he made daredevil catch
Spring training isn’t just for the players. Everyone involved needs some time to shake off the rust and prepare for the long season ahead.
Even the umpires.
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Or perhaps to state that more accurately, especially the umpires after Minnesota Twins right fielder LaMonte Wade tricked the veteran crew of Eric Cooper, Marty Foster, Dan Iassogna and James Hoye into thinking he made a spectacular daredevil catch during Wednesday’s Grapefruit League game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The controversial play happened in the second inning of Minnesota’s 4-2 win. After Ward dove into the stands while chasing a foul ball off the bat of Philadelphia’s Scott Kingery, he was immediately credited with making the catch. However, replays quickly showed that Wade never actually had the ball in his glove. The ball glanced off the tip and landed in the second row.
What happened next was key to the missed call.
The baseball bounced right back into Wade’s glove as he landed in the lap of a fan. Ward quickly corralled it and just as quickly handed it to a fan. That led the umpires to think Ward had it all along.
It was so obvious after replay, even the Twins had to acknowledge it wasn’t a catch.
As the Phillies broadcast noted, Wade didn’t try all that hard to sell the catch. That he fooled the umpires may have even been an accident on his part.
It certainly wasn’t near the performance New York Mets third baseman Todd Frazier gave last season when he used a rubber baseball to convince the umpires he made a catch in the stands at Dodger Stadium. Frazier should have won an Oscar for that one.
Whatever the case, this crew bought Wade’s actions. That led to Phillies manager Gabe Kapler confronting the umpires. To no avail.
LaMonte Wade, Jr., credited with an inning-ending catch of a foul ball he reached into the stands to grab. One problem: The ball actually ticked off his glove, hit the ground and was then corralled by Wade. Gabe Kapler out to argue, but it's spring training, man!
— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) February 27, 2019
Even though the game was broadcast on NBC SportsNet Philadelphia, there was no replay available. That’s typically the case for spring training games unless MLB is trying to work out some replay kinks.
As a result, Wade’s spectacular effort might go down as the greatest non-catch in a game that didn’t count.
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