NEW YORK -- With his elite speed, Chandler Simpson can turn even routine plays into something special.
In college, for instance, he once scored from second base on a sacrifice fly. He hit an infield single to first base earlier this season in Triple-A. And the fastest man in baseball was at it again throughout the Rays’ 7-5 win on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
Simpson scored from second base on an infield single by Yandy Díaz, capping the Rays’ three-run fourth inning at Yankee Stadium, and he also reached on a pair of infield singles that few big leaguers could turn into hits.
“It's impressive. He can change the game with one play like that, and even just getting on base and allowing a guy behind you to knock you in,” Yankees star Aaron Judge said. “He's definitely a game-changer. Definitely don't get excited when I see him come up to the plate or on the bases.”
With two runners on in the fourth, Simpson -- who recorded his first multi-steal game in the Majors on Saturday -- reached on a catcher’s interference call. He advanced to second on Brandon Lowe’s two-run single. Up came Díaz, who smashed a 107.4 mph ground ball up the middle.
Yankees shortstop Oswald Peraza made an impressive diving stop to keep the ball from rolling into the outfield, but he couldn’t stop Simpson from running.
“I had the stop sign coming through, rounding third, and I looked back and I saw the shortstop on the ground, saw the ball on the ground as well,” Simpson said. “Then [I] saw a little daylight, so I went ahead.”
As Peraza rolled over and got to his feet, Simpson hustled from third base to the plate, sliding in to score well before Peraza’s throw bounced off the mound toward catcher J.C. Escarra. According to Statcast, Simpson reached a sprint speed of 31.3 feet per second, which is above the 30 feet/second mark that’s considered elite.
“He stops coming around third base, and then one step, he's back to full speed,” manager Kevin Cash said. “That's a lot to deal with for anybody defensively.”
“It's a lot of satisfaction, the fact that I can do that, but it's used as a tool to help the team win,” Simpson added. “I'm glad I was able to use it today.”
Simpson put his speed to good use again in the fifth inning. With a runner on, Simpson hit a 77.9 mph ground ball to the right side of second base. He hustled down the line in 3.91 seconds, while Peraza ranged to his left to make the play. Peraza got rid of the ball quickly, but not as quickly as Simpson ran to first.
“I saw there was a shift in the infield, and when I hit the ball initially, I saw there was nobody like directly in front of it,” Simpson said. “So I saw a little daylight, and I mean, I was [running] hard out of the box.”
Simpson reached on the infield single, turning a routine grounder into his first hit of the day. But he wasn’t done.
With Taylor Walls at first base and nobody out in the seventh inning, Simpson dropped a bunt to the third-base side of the mound and took off. Carlos Carrasco briefly struggled to pick up the ball, but that pause was more than enough. Once again reaching a sprint speed of 31.3 feet per second, Simpson raced down the line in 3.73 seconds to beat out a bunt single.
Simpson -- who’s batting .296 after his first 14 games in the Majors -- dashed home on a two-run single by Jonathan Aranda, who went 3-for-4 with two walks and three RBIs.
The speedy prospect has earned the attention of opposing pitchers, stars like Judge and rival first basemen, who he says often ask him, “How’s it feel to be that fast?”
“It's exciting,” Rays starter Taj Bradley said. “It's another level to the game, stuff that I feel like people weren't really seeing as much of.”
And Simpson has earned the admiration of his teammates, who have seen first-hand how his contact-oriented approach and incredible speed can help them win games.
“I mean, it's different. I don't really think you could compare what he's doing to anything that I've seen,” said Walls, who tied a career high with four hits on Sunday. “I think it's just a crazy element of speed that you might not ever see again. And then the ability to stay within himself, know who he is as a hitter and make a lot of contact and keep balls out of that air, I think, is just incredible.”