Felipe Lopez Pulled for Lack of Hustle

Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon is fun and chill guy (when he’s not ejecting umpires), but he does have one rule: players must hustle. We saw that rule broken and become a problem for B.J. Upton last season, and the latest victim appears to be Felipe Lopez.

Lopez has been filling in at third base everyday since Evan Longoria got hurt and he had to be replaced in Friday’s game. Lopez didn’t hustle to first on a ground ball that was bobbled, costing the Rays a baserunner in a tie game. It was the second time this week Lopez didn’t run hard on a ball so Maddon decided to pull him. The Rays ended up losing in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run home run by John McDonald.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there are only so many things one player can control in baseball. You can’t control the pitch that is thrown, ball or strikes calls, or the plays fielders will make. But the one thing you can always control is your effort, and unless you’re hurt, there’s absolutely on reason not to hustle.