Take a look back at all the very weirdest moments from the 2017 postseason so far
The 2017 postseason has had a little bit of everything. Want a dramatic late-inning rally? We've got it. A historic walk-off dinger? Sure. Endless shenanigans? You know it. From high drama to high comedy, October has hit just about every point on the emotional spectrum. And, in accordance with the bylaws of the Baseball Gods, it's also been extremely weird.
If baseball has taught us anything, it's that any given play could provide something no one has ever seen before -- and this postseason has been no exception.
Yes, you read that right: During ALCS Game 4 on Monday, Aaron Judge was eventually ruled out on a play that featured not one but two replay reviews. Allow us to explain.
With
But we're just getting started. Joe Girardi challenged the call, and upon further review the umpires ruled that Judge beat first baseman
Realizing that the Astros were about to successfully appeal to second, Girardi had one final trick up his sleeve: He told Judge to start running for second before Houston could throw the ball over.
The attempt was unsuccessful, but everyone involved gets an A for effort.
The Red Sox had their backs against the wall in ALDS Game 4 against the Astros: Down 2-1 in the series, Boston entered the bottom of the ninth trailing, 5-3, just three outs away from elimination. Things looked grim ... until Devers lifted a fly ball to deep center:
Yu Darvish and
Neither Darvish nor Davis was particularly known for their abilities at the plate -- that is, until the NLCS.
First up was Darvish, he of the career .129 batting average. In the top of the sixth of Game 3, the Dodgers were hoping to extend their 3-1 lead, loading the bases with two outs. Though Darvish had been impressive on the mound to that point, this was a critical point in the game, and the conventional wisdom went that manager Dave Roberts would send a pinch-hitter up looking to break the game open.
But oh, how the conventional wisdom was wrong. Roberts stuck with his pitcher, and four pitches later, Darvish had an RBI walk -- and one heck of a bat flip:
Reliever
Not to be outdone, Davis stepped to the plate in Game 4 the next night, armed with
Davis fouled off five straight pitches from
The grand slam and the challenge that wasn't
After dropping Game 1 of their ALDS against the Indians, the Yankees jumped on
With men on first and second and two outs,
Though replays seemed to show the ball hitting Chisenhall's bat rather than his hand -- which would have been an inning-ending strike three -- Girardi neglected to challenge the call.
So of course the next batter,
Trailing, 9-7, in the bottom of the eighth of a do-or-die NLDS Game 5 against the Cubs, the Nationals tried to put together one more rally to save their season. Two walks got things started, and after singles from
And then, in a flash, it was over:
Though Lobaton got back to the bag in time, he slipped off just long enough for
The entire fifth inning of NLDS Game 5
If you're wondering how an entire inning could qualify as a weird moment, just wait. Holding a 4-1 lead in the fifth, Dusty Baker decided to replace struggling Washington starter
Unfortunately, Mad Max didn't have his best stuff, surrendering three straight hits including a go-ahead two-run double from
For those keeping score at home, the next four Chicago batters produced 1) an intentional walk, 2) a passed-ball third strike compounded by a wild throw to first from Matt Wieters (who complained of interference from Javy Baez), 3) catcher's interference on Wieters and 4) a hit-by-pitch.
Joe Maddon gets heated
Maddon is not usually thought of as a particularly fiery manager, but this NLCS has produced two particularly bizarre plays that resulted in him getting ejected.
First, in Game 2, the Cubs thought they'd thrown
Maddon got his money's worth after the call was reversed -- much as he would in Game 4 on Wednesday night, when it appeared that Wade Davis had struck out Curtis Granderson with Chicago nursing a one-run lead in the eighth. But again, the original call was changed:
And to think -- all this weird baseball, and we haven't even reached the World Series yet.