Manny Machado Attempts “Hidden Ball” Play and Costs Padres a Run
In a game between the San Diego Padres and the Boston Red Sox, Padres’ third baseman Manny Machado attempted a “hidden ball trick” that, in the end, cost his team at least one run. The situation arose in the third inning, with Jarren Duran on third base and one out. Machado, still in possession of the ball after an attempted steal by Alex Bregman, tagged Duran near the base. However, third base umpire Scott Barry ruled a balk, allowing Duran to score and giving Boston a 2-1 lead. Trevor Story advanced from second to third base. The rule states that the pitcher cannot be on the mound for the “hidden ball” play to be legal. If another player tags a runner while the pitcher is on the mound, it is considered a balk.Subsequently, Masataka Yoshida connected a ground ball that drove in Story, putting the score at 3-1. The Padres managed to get closer 3-2 in the bottom of the inning and take the lead 4-3 in the fifth. San Diego finally won the game 5-4 in 10 innings, thanks to a single by Ramón Laureano that drove in Xander Bogaerts from second base, with no outs.“I thought it was a great baseball play. I take some responsibility,” said San Diego manager Mike Shildt. “We want to work on everything that can happen in spring training. It’s my mistake that we didn’t do it. You just can’t be on the mound when that happens. But Manny’s IQ comes up again. Just something we didn’t work on. He was on the mound. But he had it.”
Mike Shildt, San Diego Manager
