The Tampa Bay Rays proved themselves as masters of the old "hidden ball" trick during Saturday's game, as they were able to fool Los Angeles Dodgers runner Juan Uribe and tag him out as he stepped off third base.
It happened in the top of the fourth inning with one out as Uribe reached third on a sacrifice fly. Uribe took his eye off the ball for just a bit too long while dusting off his pants. While Uribe wasn't looking, Rays first baseman James Loney, who had the ball near the pitchers mound, tossed the ball to shortstop Yunel Escobar, who tossed it behind Uribe's back to third baseman Evan Longoria. As Uribe finally stood back up, he took his foot off the bag for just a fraction of a second, which allowed Longoria to make the tag for the out.
Ironically, the third base umpire who made the call was Angel Hernandez. Hernandez has gotten some flack a few times this season for some bad calls, but he made the right one in this case, so we have to give him credit where credit is due.
H/T FTW.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
