When you are batting and a hit-and-run play is called, you have one job and one job only: swing the darn bat.
It doesn’t matter if the pitch is coming at your dome, going behind you, in the dirt, or over your head. If you’re not swinging, you’re getting chewed out by your coach. Pablo Sandoval knows this, which is why he swung to try protecting Brandon Belt in the second inning of his team’s 2-1 loss to the Pirates on Tuesday. The only problem is he had a slight bit of a delayed reaction on his swing.
Sandoval took a comically late swing with an 0-1 count because he was initially worried that a pitch from Charlie Morton was going to hit him. So after moving out of the way to avoid the pitch, Panda realized he still needed to do his job of protecting the runner, so he gave a courtesy wave of the bat. His effort may have even helped, because catcher Tony Sanchez burped the ball into center, allowing Belt to grab an extra base.
Good job, good effort, Panda.
