re: Ryan Theriot on the missed DP by Arky

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So you are saying he chose the harder play, but since he chose the harder play it’s actually the easier play?

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Yeah

Indecision is what causes most errors. His mind was made up that 3B was the play so in that moment, to him, it was the easier play.

ETA: I’m not arguing that it makes sense from a practical standpoint. I’m just saying it’s the only explanation that makes any sense at all.

There’s nothing about going to 3rd in that situation that does make sense.

1 out
1st and 2nd
2 run lead so lead runner is irrelevant
Hard hit ball
Mound visit right before to clarify plays

The ONLY thing that leads to going to 3rd is that’s where he was more comfortable making the play and securing the out.

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Indecision is what causes most errors.

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His mind was made up that 3B was the play so in that moment

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In my mind, these 2 can't be correct. It was indecision....but he had already made his decision?

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The ONLY thing that leads to going to 3rd is that’s where he was more comfortable making the play and securing the out.

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Or he panicked in the moment, and made a mistake.

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Look, let’s say the third baseman got a hard ground ball. And instead of starting the double play, he ran to third and stepped on the bag

We would all say “should have started the DP but got nervous and took the easy out “

Everyone would say it’s the wrong play, but it wouldn’t be nearly as big of a deal

This is such an absolute head scratcher because he didn’t just chose the wrong play, he chose the wrong play that was actually more difficult

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I’ve literally been arguing this the entire time. Their entire team was tense, you could see it in every play. You could even see it in the 9th against UCLA when they bungled a few plays and gave up some cheap runs.

The only place we disagree is his mentality in the moment is what made it the easier play. I’ll admit “easier” probably isn’t the best word to use and “safer” would have been better. In his mind, 3rd was the “safe” out in that situation and he took that over turning 2.

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Or he panicked in the moment, and made a mistake.

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The throw to 3rd was too decisive IMO. Panicking is what the LF did.

Aloy seemed completely calm. It wasn’t until after the play was over that he realized he’d fricked up.

I don’t care what he was thinking. The throw to 3rd was more difficult and less safe

There is more of a chance if you looked up stats that there would be an error throwing to 3rd than 2nd based on his positioning. That throw to 3rd , while not hard per se, is not routine

I have never ever seen that happen. Ever. It’s the most perplexing play

I have seen 3rd basemen choose to run to their bag instead of starting a DP in a tight moment

I have seen second baseman take the easier throw to first instead of to second (because they don’t want to have to turn and throw opposite of their body like Hawaiian )

Button have never seen a SS chose to not start the DP and instead CHOOSE to turn his entire body and throw opposite of it

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I don’t care what he was thinking. The throw to 3rd was more difficult and less safe

There is more of a chance if you looked up stats that there would be an error throwing to 3rd than 2nd based on his positioning. That throw to 3rd , while not hard per se, is not routine

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Right, but remember, indecision is usually the cause of errors. The throw it 3rd is usually a snap decision, but it seemed like it was his primary thought.

It absolutely was not routine and made zero sense to anyone except for him in the moment. Like you’ve pointed out, it didn’t take but a couple of seconds for him to realize he’d made the wrong choice, but he sure seemed confident during the play.

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In my mind, these 2 can't be correct. It was indecision....but he had already made his decision?

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It wasn’t an error, it just wasn’t the best decision

I'm surprised there are so many on here defending his decision given the level of baseball we are talking about, the skill level of all the guys involved (or potentially involved), how the ball was hit and how easily and quickly he got to the ball with perfect body position.

The kid just either had a mental lapse in the moment, or with knowledge aforethought made and exceedingly poor decision. The chance of failure or error on the relay given how good of a feliding team you have here is so small that there is no world given this same set of circumstances that taking the out at third is the correct choice and his decision is indefensible.