Brett Baty is being vindicated over his embarrassing error — somewhat.
The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 on Saturday night. The game was close as the Mets trailed just 2-1 entering the ninth. But then things went wrong.
Mookie Betts was up with runners on second and third and one out. He popped up a 0-1 pitch to third for what should have been a routine out. Instead, Baty was unable to make the play, which allowed a run to score.
Oh my goodness 😳
What is happening in Queens?… pic.twitter.com/FAG4ZxHuWu
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 16, 2023
The Dodgers took the gift and ran with it, tacking on two extra runs to make it 5-1, which ended up being the final.
Though Baty looks terrible for missing that ball — and he still should make the catch on a play like that — at least we have some additional context.
A 3D tracking video showed that the popup had some extremely bizarre, late break to it. The ball suddenly dove to the right as it was on its way down.
Brett Baty, Uh Oh (3D tracking)
To be fair, I don't know what the heck was going on with that ball pic.twitter.com/H5owOa6J8Q
— David Adler (@_dadler) July 16, 2023
Whether it’s the wind blowing a ball or a grounder hitting a pebble and taking a wicked hop, sometimes odd things happen on the field. Few fans will accept those weird acts as an excuse for a blown play, but at least we know that something very weird happened on the ball Baty missed.
