The day a future Hall of Famer held up Giants
They don’t do these things, but perhaps it would be fitting to depict Ivan Rodriguez holding up a baseball on his Hall of Fame plaque.
One of the most recognizable images in Marlins’ history is Rodriguez screaming in joy while clutching a ball — high in his open palm — showing the world he held onto it after getting mowed down by the Giants’ J.T. Snow.
“One of the best in my career,” Rodriguez said in a Hall of Fame conference call advancing Sunday’s induction in Cooperstown, N.Y. “I made a lot of great plays, but I think that was the one that comes first.”
It was the 2003 Division Series, and the Giants won 100 regular-season games after taking the pennant a year earlier. Their playoff roster had a gaping hole, though. No speed off the bench because they chose to keep 12 pitchers instead of Eric Young.
The Giants lost two of the first three in the best-of-five series, so they needed to win Game 4 to stay alive. The Marlins broke a 5-5 tie in the eighth and took a 7-5 lead into the ninth. Snow singled home Neifi Perez and was at second base with two outs, but was forced to run for himself.
Snow tried scoring on Jeffrey Hammonds’ single to left, and Jeff Conine threw a one-hopper to the plate, a bit up the third-base line. Those were the days when homeplate collisions were common, before the rule limiting them, and Snow’s mission was to take out Rodriguez and prevent him from making a play.
Snow tried. But Rodriguez reached for the ball, lunged back toward Snow and applied a tag using both hands. Snow drilled Rodriguez with his right shoulder, and the impact drove Rodriguez back several feet and forced him into a backward somersault.
He never lost possession of the ball.
Snow was out. The series was over. The Giants wouldn’t return to the postseason until 2010, a six-year void that was all about Barry Bonds’ chase of Hank Aaron’s home run record and dealing with the aftermath.
As teammates began jumping on Rodriguez, the catcher was on his back hoisting the ball high in his right hand. He wasn’t letting go. When he finally got up, he hoisted it some more.
“Jeff Conine threw a perfect throw to me, a little bit to the left, but he threw it on time so I could be able to put myself in great position and keep good balance and keep the ball in my hand,” Rodriguez said.
Was he hurt from the collision?
“To be honest with you, the collision at the plate didn’t hurt me much,” Rodriguez said. “What hurt me most was all 24 teammates on top of me celebrating.”
The Marlins went on to win the National League Championship Series, taking advantage of the gift of Steve Bartman, and whipped the Yankees in a six-game World Series.
It was suggested the Giants lost the series in Game 3, much like they lost 2002’s sevengame World Series in Game 6. They had the lead in the 11th inning of Game 3, but Rodriguez hit a two-run single to end the game. The Giants left 18 men on base and went 2for-16 with runners in scoring position, and right fielder Jose Cruz Jr. dropped a routine fly to begin the winning rally.
Once the Marlins beat the Giants, Rodriguez said, “We were never afraid of anybody.” It was his only season as a Marlin.
A’s connection: The Nationals still don’t have a true closer despite the additions of former A’s relievers Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson and could add another arm or two before Monday’s trade deadline. Not just a reliever, but perhaps a starter.
Doolittle had a shaky first save situation with the Nationals, putting two men on before retiring the Angels’ Mike Trout and Albert Pujols .“I promise they won’t all be like that,” said Doolittle, who pitched out of another jam in his next save chance.
The lefty issued walks in each of his first four appearances — after walking just two in 211⁄3 innings with Oakland — including Wednesday, when he coughed up three runs in a nonsave situation.
Still, the manner in which Doolittle pitched out of trouble, including aggressively going after Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt, reminded manager Dusty Baker of one of his favorite Giants.
“I had a couple of those guys, namely Rod Beck. That’s how Rod Beck was,” Baker told reporters. “This guy had guts, and that will take you a long ways.”
Madson has a 0.00 ERA through four outings, and Baker appreciates that the two new relievers came recommended by A’s manager Bob Melvin. “He said you’re getting two of his best citizens and two of his best players,” Baker said. “That’s a great compliment when you get that from your manager.”
If the Nationals can land one more late-game reliever, they’d be far better prepared for the postseason. Gone, gone, gone: It was a rough week for umpires, who ejected Adrian Beltre, Marcus Stroman and Kris Bryant because fans come to see umpires, not players.
When Gerry Davis ordered Texas’ Beltre to the on-deck circle mat and Beltre dragged the mat to where he always stands before an at-bat, it was a perfect opportunity for the umpire to smile and go with the flow of the moment, perhaps break the ice by walking to Beltre and explaining how it works. It was a cute moment, and Davis ruined it. Beltre followed orders, after all.
Will Little thumbed Toronto’s Stroman after a ball-four call on Oakland’s Bruce Maxwell. Stroman expressed his frustration, and Little ripped off his mask, baiting the pitcher to go further, then quickly ejected him and catcher Russell Martin.
The Cubs’ Bryant was ejected for the first time in his career, courtesy of Lance Barksdale, who called strike three on a pitch several inches inside. Bryant, who doesn’t generally challenge umpires, argued the call and turned to walk back to the dugout, and only then did he get tossed.
The best solution isn’t robot umps. It’s improving the caliber of the current crop, not just by reprimanding them for being overly confrontational, but for getting calls repeatedly wrong — and letting them sit out a while if they’re not producing.