Major League Baseball

Javy Báez's baserunning wizardry lures Pirates into blunder, sparks Cubs

Updated May. 27, 2021 7:55 p.m. ET

Was it a case of magical baserunning, or one of the most non-sensical plays you’ll ever see on a Major League Baseball diamond?

Perhaps it was a little bit of both.

The play in question came in a Thursday afternoon contest in Pittsburgh between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs, and it all started innocently enough when Chicago’s Javy Báez hit what looked like a routine, inning-ending ground ball to third base.

That’s when this happened:

Báez is nicknamed "El Mago," or "The Magician" for possessing a level of athleticism that allows him to create highlight-reel plays out of thin air, whether at the plate, on the basepaths or at his shortstop position. And this play was nothing if not magical, just not for the reasons you might think.

Yes, Báez’s quickness – both physically and mentally – was a sight to behold. But the real sorcery was whatever he did to convince Pirates' first baseman Will Craig that …

– A tag was necessary.

– There was a play at the plate.

– That he needed to do anything whatsoever other than simply step on first base to end the inning.

All of this was pointed out in the Pirates’ radio broadcast: "What a looney play! And he’s in at second base! Just tag him out! What was that? The Cubs are going to get a run and Baez is safe at second base on a routine groundout to third."

Remember that when there are two outs, if you beat the runner to first base for the third out, the inning is over. It doesn’t matter what happens anywhere else on the field. Craig and Báez could have sat down on the field and played checkers while a parade of baserunners came around to score. As long as Craig then beat Báez to first base – or tagged him – for the third out, none of those runs would have counted.

"I've never seen anything like it," Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks said after the game. "I don’t think you’ll ever see it again. ...The dugout was just losing it. They couldn’t believe what they just saw with their eyes. Guys were going crazy."

Even worse for the Pirates? Báez would then score on a blooper into center field by Ian Happ. Those two runs would end up being the difference in a 5-3 Cubs victory.

As for Craig, he is a journeyman whom the Pirates called up to the majors a couple of weeks ago. He is hitting .233 in 12 games this season and no matter what he does from this point forward, it's going to be difficult for him to shake being the guy was lured into making a most unusually boneheaded play.

Craig's play led to a wealth of reactions across the baseball world, as observers marveled at the Jedi Mind Trick Báez pulled on Craig and the Pirates.

Here are some of our favorites.

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