Aaron Hicks missed the hit and run sign, a breakdown
What Happened
In the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 1 of the ALDS, the New York Yankees trail the Baltimore Orioles by one run. Rookie sensation Gunnar Henderson is on first base, representing the tying run for the Orioles. New York outfielder Aaron Hicks steps up to the plate, facing a critical moment in the game. The tension builds as the first pitch from the Rangers' pitcher is spiked in at 98 mph. Henderson takes a good look at the signs from the third base coach, trying to decipher the play that's being called. The Rangers appear focused on preventing Henderson from advancing into scoring position. On a 2-0 count, Hicks swings at a fastball that tails inside, but it's a tough pitch to handle. Catcher Jonah Heim knows the Orioles are likely to attempt a hit-and-run play, and he's ready. As the pitcher delivers, Henderson takes off for second base, but Heim rifles a perfect throw to second base, catching Henderson for the crucial out. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is visibly upset on the bench, and Henderson turns back towards the dugout with a puzzled look, wondering what went wrong. Heim celebrates the caught stealing, fired up to get the critical out. The very next pitch, Hicks strikes out looking, his dejected expression mirrored by his son in the stands. The Orioles' rally is squelched, and the next batter grounds out to end the game. In the postgame interview, Hyde explains that the play was a missed hit-and-run sign by Hicks. He notes that the Orioles have been a very aggressive, running team this season, often putting runners in motion, especially with a full count. However, on this 2-1 count, Hicks apparently didn't process the sign, as he is typically more focused on taking pitches and drawing walks. Despite the miscue, Hyde emphasizes that the loss can't be pinned on that single play, as the Orioles had other opportunities to score earlier in the game. Hicks has been a vital contributor for the Orioles all season, and the manager takes responsibility for the communication breakdown in that critical moment.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentRangers have a one-run lead in the DS.
Game one, Gunnar Henderson, rookie of the year,
throws one in the right field, though.
He's on first base representing the tying run,
and the Orioles are in business,
and the Gunnar Henderson fans are excited.
And something happens here that I found interesting,
and I did a lot of digging into it, a little bit of digging.
Gunnar Henderson first, Hicks is at the plate.
First pitch, spiked, 98.
Okay, things are looking good for the Orioles.
Henderson looking at the signs, looking at the signs.
What do you got for me, coach?
99, low, he gets back.
So they're worried about the speed.
They don't want him to get in the scoring position.
Hicks swings at that one, a 2-0 fastball.
I think Hicks wants that one back.
I mean, it's a little inside, so it's a nice pitch,
but that's 2-0, that's what he's looking for.
Heim's like, yep, we got him, don't worry.
Now Hicks is looking at the third base coach.
He's taking in the signs, understanding what's getting put on.
Henderson saw the sign, and he's going to take off
as the pitcher goes and gets thrown out.
And look at him, look back at the dugout here,
look back at Hicks and be like, what?
What's going on?
And what the fuck?
Oh, Hyde's upset.
Henderson's still looking back like, what?
That's not cool, man.
But on the other side, Heim, great throw.
He's fired up.
Let's go!
Jonah!
Very next pitch, strike three, stairs into the distance.
Hicks.
Hicks, sad.
This guy, really sad.
His son, really sad.
This guy, sad.
His son, sad.
Gray, goatee, sad.
Brown, full beard, sad.
What happened?
What happened to our inning?
The next batter grounds out to end the game.
Now let's go to the postgame, where Hyde talks about what happened here.
Brandon, yesterday you said the play in the ninth inning,
the called stealing was a miscommunication.
Was that the call there, was that a hit and run, or was that a steal?
Yeah, that was a, we just missed the hit and run sign there.
And that's just something that we've been, done a lot this year.
So the Orioles have run a ton this year.
I mean, if the count is full, they almost always put the runner in motion.
That's what I'm showing you here, a montage of all of that.
I went through, I went through like every at-bat with a run around first
to see how often they hit and run, because I want to show you guys,
because they do, like Rushman and Henderson are second and fourth
and going first to third on singles.
The Orioles are a running team.
Unfortunately, you know,
Hicks has been wonderful for us this entire season in so many ways.
And, you know, we do put runners in motion.
We do have to do things.
We don't hit a ton of homers, trying to generate offense a little bit at times.
And we bunt, we do the little things.
And yesterday we just missed the sign in the ninth inning there,
but that didn't cost us the game.
We had opportunities to score before that.
So out at Hicks, Hicks missed the hit and run sign.
And I was thinking about people,
people that watch my videos that might not have any idea what a hit and run is.
Basically, it means that the hitter is supposed to swing at the ball.
They're, they're guessing that the pitcher's going to throw a fastball in the zone
and they want to put the runner in motion to avoid the double play,
to get the runner, to get the third on a single easier,
to move the infield defense around.
That might help them just make stuff happen.
It's not that common anymore, but teams still do it.
I looked it up.
They do it a ton, three and two, but the Orioles, as far as I found,
which I did a ton of looking at this, they only 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
I could only find 10 times they put on a hit and run that wasn't a full count.
It's like a 2-1 count, 2-0 count, 1-0 count.
None of them really like worked out.
And I went into this thinking I was going to show you guys a bunch of like
incredibly successful hit and runs.
But here's what I found.
There goes Hayes and it was a hit and run.
There goes Ryan and it's a hit and run down the line.
McCann on a little hit and run down to third.
Runner goes.
There he goes.
Runner goes.
Foul back.
McCann is on the run and the ball is hit right at Diaz.
Runner on the go.
Foul back.
Mullins running.
A weak ground ball to Segura.
And he takes off and it's fouled.
There goes Westberg and he is out at second base.
So at the end you get the worst part of it.
A strike him out, throw him out, double play if it doesn't work out.
They led the league in going first to third.
They didn't lead the league but they were up there.
But they also wasn't really hitting runs that got them there.
So again, I went into this thinking I was going to explain hitting runs.
People that might not know what it is and show that the Orioles are great at them.
With the count full, they actually, it was a very successful strategy and they did it a ton.
When the count not full, they didn't do it that much.
So maybe Hicks, 2-1 count, he's not even, it's not even in his head as an option.
And that's why he didn't like process the signs.
He was just kind of zombie looking over there and then went to the plate.
Also Hicks hates swinging.
His whole approach is like not swinging, getting good, getting walks.
So he missed the sign.
But I was, I like, I like these little details of the game.
I like hitting runs.
They're fun.
And then I did a lot of research to find every time the Orioles had a runner on first base.
And the runner went in motion and the guy swung at a pitch.
And majority of them.
Were 3-2 counts.
Otherwise, they're the 10 you just saw.
We'll be right back.