Eric Hosmer scored the tying run for the Kansas City Royals in the ninth inning Sunday night on a heads-up baserunning play that could have just as easily gone down as a boneheaded decision. In fact, Hosmer openly admitted he regretted his decision as soon as he took off for home.
After the Royals defeated the New York Mets in Game 5 to close out the World Series, Hosmer was asked about his decision to try and score even after David Wright looked him back and fired to first for the out.
Asked Eric Hosmer what he was thinking as he was sprinting home in the 9th. Hos: "At first – that I made a mistake." pic.twitter.com/dAFUQkNIdG
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) November 2, 2015
Fortunately for Hosmer, Lucas Duda made a terrible throw home. A good throw would have gotten Hosmer and been the final out of the game, and you can see proof of that here.
In the end, it all worked out. Matt Harvey demanded to go out to pitch the ninth, and Mets manager Terry Collins let him have his way. Collins later admitted he will second-guess the decision for a long time.
Personally, I have no problem with Hosmer’s decision to take off. As LB noted, forcing the Mets to execute a tag play at the plate probably gave Kansas City a better chance than relying on Alex Gordon to drive the run home with a two-out hit. You need a couple of plays like that to work in your favor to win a playoff series.
