When a team loses Game 7 of the World Series, especially by one run in extra innings, it’s impossible not to spend the winter second-guessing minute decisions.
The moment that a lot of Toronto Blue Jays fans have come to lament from this year’s World Series came in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7, when Daulton Varsho’s ground ball to Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas with the bases loaded and one out resulted in Isiah Kiner-Falefa getting forced out at home plate by about half a step.
Controversy ensued in the game’s aftermath, as Dodgers catcher Will Smith went on to homer in the top of the 11th to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead and eventually, their second-straight title. It was clear from rewatching the video of the groundout that Kiner-Falefa’s primary lead was far too small, given that Varsho is a left-handed batter who virtually never lines out to third base.
More than a month after the loss, Blue Jays manager John Schneider addressed the play earlier this week,
“For one, I feel so bad for Izzy (Kiner-Falefa) for getting all the blame,” Schneider said in a video posted to YouTube by Baseball on Fanatics View. “Izzy’s an unbelievable baseball player. … Could we have done a better job of getting him off (the base) a little bit? Yeah. Another step or two. There’s been video of (third base coach Carlos Febles) telling him where to go.”
Schneider revealed that part of the logic behind Kiner-Falefa’s small lead was Smith’s tendency to throw behind runners at third base. Still, he admitted that for all the details the Blue Jays surely had on their minds during that critical moment, the probability of a bang-bang play at the plate didn’t rank high enough among them.
“What’s not talked about enough is the fact that Will Smith likes to back pick to third with left-handed hitters up,” Schneider said, per Baseball on Fanatics View. “It’s something we talked about at length before the series. Something that Carlos reminded Izzy of.
“People have said, ‘What are the odds that Varsho is going to line out to third?’ Fairly low, right? That’s just where he doesn’t hit the ball. So could we have done a better job of getting Izzy another step or two down? Yeah for sure.”
Blue Jays-Dodgers was an incredible series, and those matchups often get decided by a couple of inches. Now that Schneider has been on the losing end of one, he’ll surely think about where to position his lead runner even more critically next time around.
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