Bellinger Hits a Home Run but it doesn't count, a breakdown
What Happened
On Opening Day 2021, the Dodgers visited Coors Field and Cody Bellinger appeared to hit a home run off Colorado's German Marquez. The ball nicked the railing above the outfield wall, but a fan in the front row scooped it with his glove and reacted like he hadn't caught it, which made the play look like a routine catch. Justin Turner, running ahead of Bellinger on the bases, thought the ball had been caught and reversed course back toward first, crossing Bellinger as he did it. Under rule 5.09, passing a preceding runner is an out, so Bellinger was called out even though Turner was the one who ran backward. The result: the homer got knocked down to an RBI single, with Turner allowed to score.
Why This Matters
This is one of the weirder scoring quirks you'll see, and it cost Bellinger a real home run on the very first day of the season. The rule at issue is 5.09(b)(9): a runner is out the moment a trailing runner passes him on the basepaths. Bellinger did nothing wrong. He hit it out, jogged it out, and still lost the dinger because Turner second-guessed the catch and backtracked into him. The fan's deadpan reaction is what set the whole thing in motion. For Bellinger, the timing stung. He was coming off a brutal 2020 World Series shoulder injury and a down 2021 was about to follow, so missing a season-opening homer in his stat line wasn't nothing. It's a textbook case of why runners are told to keep going until they're sure.
At 1.8M views this one cracked the top 8.2% of all Jomboy breakdowns, proof that a vanished home run draws a crowd.
Key Moments
Who / What Is Involved
Players: Cody Bellinger.
Key Terms Mentioned
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentopening day is finally here baseball is
back the reigning champs the dodgers
were in colorado to play a
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so is the little belly shimmy in the box
he steps into the plate
and get ready to watch something weird
unfold first marquez wants that pitch
blue come on
that's right on the outside edge then
balance
blue come on that pitch was outside so
they like that outside corner then
they go back outside and bailey smacks
that to left is it a routine
pop out no it's a home run this dude
gets the ball
but acts like he didn't get the ball and
that's kind of weirded me out because
dude
you brought a glove to the game you slid
out of your chair hopped up just to get
the ball
and now like no one else got the ball
man no one else got that ball so why are
you acting like you didn't get the ball
be excited about getting the ball you're
weirding everyone out
anyway it was in his glove right there
right
so when it's in his glove right there
turner
is rounding second base and he's
thinking well that's in front of the
fence and it's in his glove so i gotta
head back to first base
he doesn't know that his glove hit the
railing and then it went over and then
that guy sheepishly stole the ball even
though it's his property he brought his
glove
so you can see turner's oh he
caught that ball
goes back and only problem is he crosses
and now according to rule 5.09
acdef Bellinger is out for running past
a teammate even though turner is the one
that ran backwards Bellinger's the one
that's out
which means his home run isn't going to
count it's actually going to go in the
book as an rbi single and belly's like
no no no no no
that was a home run that was a home run
turner runs back krone
the rocky's first baseman he's telling
the um like hey he ran past him that's
out and belly's like wait
what are you guys saying turner says huh
wait what are you guys saying
and Dave Roberts says no it's a home run
wait what what are you guys saying
and valley's confused he's like what's
going on here because the ball i hit it
over the fence
it went over the fence after i hit it
it's a home run now this um
very adamant he's like yes yes yes yes
yes yes yes yes no no no
no no no no no no no no no and they make
up the rules belly's like what
so they tell robert everything i just
told you it's an rbi single
turner scores and belly's like hey
what's happening
like well we're trying to tell the
coaches right now so Bellinger's out and
then you can see the um say
turner gets to come all the way around
and score gross
so it's actually a one run single
turner scores and i think he's laughing
in the dugout because he took away a
home run
from Bellinger with his base running and
belly's like
i don't like that i don't think and
turner's like yeah
oh well i thought he robbed it from you
and that's as clear as this one is and
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