We've seen players attempt all sorts of trickery to try to avoid being tagged on the basepaths. Some go soaring, others try swimming and still others use sleight of hand.
But what if you don't have to go to such extreme lengths? Stopping short of the base can be just as successful, which is how Chase Meidroth picked up one of the craftiest stolen bases of the season on Sunday.
After being hit by a pitch in the fifth inning at Rate Field, the White Sox rookie boldly tested his speed against Giants catcher Patrick Bailey, who is one of the game's best throwing catchers and ranks in the top 10 in the Majors in pop time. And by all accounts, it looked like Bailey, digging a 79 mph curve out of the dirt and slinging a sidearm strike to second baseman Brett Wisely, had his man. Meidroth was called out, but he confidently remained on the bag, asking manager Will Venable to challenge the call.
Meidroth obviously knew something we didn't, at least until we could see the replay, which left White Sox play-by-play man John Schriffen in awe: "No way!" In just his 60th MLB game, the 23-year-old showed the wile of a seasoned vet by hitting the brakes on his slide before Wisely, who was leaning backward in a squat, could tag him, and then he snuck his foot on the bag. The call was overturned. When you need 90 feet to steal a base, sometimes 89 1/2 feet will do the trick.
This seemed like more of a case of practical invention than intervention, but it had to make the White Sox-loving Pope smile all the same.
"He's got those instincts on what we know is a tough catcher to run on," Venable said. "The throw beats him, so being able to make a play there was awesome to see."