Javier Baez’s incredible heads-up baseball has been the biggest storyline of the Cubs’ narratively overwrought postseason. And with his team trailing 1-0 in Game 2 on Sunday night, he made a brilliant snap decision to bail them out of a two-on, one-out jam.
Even shortstop Addison Russell, who was covering second base, was momentarily confused when Baez threw him the ball after letting it bounce. But ultimately, after some impassioned directing from Baez, they were able to get Josh Reddick out at second and Adrian Gonzalez out at third.
Granted, he was only able to make the play because the umpires didn’t call the infield fly rule—a reasonable response to a line drive, but one that goes against the specific spirit of the rule. But still, I wouldn’t recommend playing chess against Baez.
[FS1]