This throw beat Martin Maldonado to the plate, so he used a perfect swim slide to avoid the tag
Facing
But Martin had other plans, so he busted out a crafty and elusive swim slide to avoid Chirinos' tag:
He was initially ruled out by home-plate umpire Angel Hernandez, but Maldonado was convinced he was safe:
After a replay review initiated by the Angels, the call was overturned and Maldonado's hard work was rewarded.
That's how you do it.
"I didn't know whether I wanted to slide head-first or feet-first," Maldonado told MLB.com's Maria Guardado after the game. "I didn't know which one I was going to do, but it worked out."
His manager, Mike Scioscia, was also impressed with the extra effort:
"I wouldn't have believed it, but Martin did everything he could to avoid a tag and he got his hand in there."