Javier Báez gets Ben Gamel with the fake tag, a breakdown
What Happened
On July 30, 2019, the Cubs and Brewers were tied 2-2 in the ninth at Miller Park, two teams scrapping over the NL Central. Ben Gamel reached first after a 1-2 at-bat, then broke for second to try to put himself in scoring position as the potential winning run. Javier Baez took the throw at second and pulled off a perfect fake tag, swiping his glove down without the ball in it. Gamel slid in, saw Baez miss it, and relaxed for half a second, but Craig Counsell came out to argue anyway. No obstruction was called, and the play stood.
Why This Matters
The detail that makes this great is the obstruction rule. If Baez had touched Gamel with an empty glove, it could've been ruled obstruction and Gamel would advance. So Baez sold the tag motion while making sure his glove never actually grazed the runner. That's not luck, that's a guy who knows the rulebook better than the umpire arguing the call. Gamel was already stung from failing to drive in the run with the bat, and Baez basically rubbed it in. The Cubs scored to take the lead, though Milwaukee came back to win the game. Baez was in his prime that summer, an All-Star and one of the most instinctive defenders in baseball. Plays like this are why scouts called his glovework as fun as his swing.
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Key Moments
Who / What Is Involved
Players: Javier Báez, Ben Gamel. Teams: Cubs, Brewers.
Key Terms Mentioned
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentCubs and Brewers are playing and they're tied at two in the ninth inning. They're
in a battle for the NL Central, which is really fun. Ben Gamble, ex -Yankee,
long hair, ex -Mariner. He's up 0 -2, but he says, I'm a hitter. I'll
hit this. High curveball, can't get it in the zone. One and two. There's a
runner on second. The go -ahead run. The walk -off run. Can Gamble be a
hero? 1 -2. Fallon back, putting together a good at -bat, having to go at
it. Oh, right back to the pitcher. Does he go to first? No. Goes to
third. Throws out the catcher. Super ballsy throw by that pitcher. I love it. worked
out great. Gets him out at third. Congratulations to him. Lorenzo Kane up and Gamble
at first, and he wants to get into scoring position pretty bad. Now he gets
the chance to be the winning run. He failed at hitting the winning run in.
He's going to try and go to second. He wants to be the winning run.
He's in there. Javi has the ball. Javi misses the ball. Gamble's like, oh, dude,
you faked me out. Javi's like, yeah, man, I did. I'm sorry about it, but
I had to. And then Javi's actually going to look at his glove, and he's
like, damn it. Should have caught it. Now the winning run's at second. You guys
got it? Okay. Damn. Man, look at this. Misses the ball. The tag would have
got him on the helmet. I think the most impressive thing is I think if
Javi touches him with the glove, it's obstruction. So Javi purposely doesn't
touch him. He acts like he's trying to touch him, but he's also not trying
to touch him because he doesn't want to obstruct with him. Javi's awesome to watch.
Counsel comes out. He's like, I don't know. Is that legal? It seems like it
should be not legal. He's like, no, I didn't touch him. It's not obstruction. He
just fooled him. Gamble got got. Your guy's an idiot. Javi's smart. He's like, okay,
okay. Well, geez, calm down about it. Nice job. He runs off. Gavi's like, yep,
that's what the fuck I do. Let's see. Does it amount to anything to go
ahead and run on second? Now it could have been on third. Nope. They strike
out Kane anyway. That ends the inning. The Cubs would take the lead, and then
Milwaukee would win this game. But a quick fake tag like that, that's some fun
baseball.