DETROIT -- Sometimes the batter has a better view of a fly ball down the line than the umpire, having tracked the ball with eyes from the moment it left his bat.
That was the case in the seventh inning on Friday night, when Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez drove a high fly ball down the left field line.
Baez knew immediately that was the ball was foul and thus didn’t even leave the batter’s box. But umpire Mark Wegner apparently lost track of the ball somewhere in flight and signaled a home run.
Baez was unmoved.
Literally. He didn’t want to move.
“That wasn’t a pimp job,” said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. “He wasn’t showing up the pitcher. Javy saw it better than anyone. He wasn’t going to run because he didn’t see that there was a need.”
Eventually Baez was obliged to run around the bases, but he didn’t celebrate.
Video replay did in fact show that the ball was foul.
Baez returned to the batter’s box and promptly struck out
“He was mad he had to run around the bases for no reason,” Hinch said.
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