This is the dumbest way to lose a baseball game
Communication is key to any delicate relationship — but perhaps to none moreso than the relationship between outfielders.
The New York Mets learned that the hard way Monday, when left-fielder Dom Smith came crashing into shortstop Amed Rosario on a routine pop-up, causing Rosario to flub the catch and ultimately allowing the San Francisco Giants to score the game-cinching run:
In the replay, Rosario can be seen clearly waving Smith off the catch. Smith took the blame for the miscue after the game, acknowledging that he "called [the catch] way too late. That's definitely on me." Mets manager Mickey Callaway chalked the mistake up to Smith's "inexperience," and The Associated Press noted that Smith has played just over 59 innings at left field, with all of those reps coming this season.
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The error happened in the top of the 13th inning; the teams ended the ninth inning knotted at 1-1, forcing the extra frames. While Smith and Rosario were untangling themselves in the outfield, the Giants' Andrew McCutchen tapped home plate to put his team up 2-1, eventually sealing the win. And so the Mets' pitiful season barrels along.
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Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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