Hernández of the Dodgers Admits Error in Historic Double Play

In the first game of the National League Championship Series, Teoscar Hernández starred in an unusual play that quickly went viral on social media.

Hernandez reflects on the play

Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández only needed to see it once to understand what happened in that bizarre double play. “I saw it once,” Hernández stated on Tuesday, a day after Los Angeles secured the 2-1 victory, despite the 8-6-2 double play.

Once the play was over, I realized I had simply ruined it. It’s one of those things you don’t need to see over and over to realize you made a mistake.

Teoscar Hernández

In the fourth inning, Hernández was on third with the bases loaded and one out when Max Muncy hit a ball that seemed to be heading out of the park. Milwaukee’s Sal Frelick tried to rob him of the home run, but the ball slipped out of his glove and hit the top of the fence before the center fielder caught it in the air. Los corredores de Los Ángeles regresaron a sus bases para tocar, creyendo que Frelick había hecho la atrapada. Hernández aún tenía tiempo de sobra para anotar, pero no se dirigió al plato con la suficiente rapidez. Frelick lanzó a Joey Ortiz, quien relevó al receptor William Contreras para un out en el plato. Contreras completed the double play by heading to third base and forcing Will Smith, who had been on second when the play began. Hernández explained that at the moment, he froze and there is no excuse for his mistake. “I just ruined it. It’s that simple,” he said. Ortiz commented that he had not seen a play like that before. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Hernandez simply froze. “Teo knows the rule. I think he had a little mental lapse,” Roberts said. “But then he touched it, did it correctly, then saw that he didn’t catch it and went back. That was the mistake. But he owned it. And after that, there’s nothing more you can do about it.” Muncy was credited with a double play with a 404-foot hit that never touched the ground. There hadn’t been an 8-6-2 double play in the postseason in the last 35 years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The most recent 8-6-2 double play in the regular season involved a Sammy Sosa hit to Ken Griffey Jr. in April 2004.