A brand of slight of hand magic turned a double play in Seattle Friday night as the Texas Rangers practiced their own art of prestidigitation courtesy of pitcher Justin Grimm and first baseman Mitch Moreland. With none out and two on, Mariners batter Jesus Sucre grounded to Moreland, who threw to shortstop Elvis Andrus for the force out at second base, setting the stage for baseball's very own léger de main trick.
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| Safe or out...or...Who has the baseball? |
As Andrus prepared the throw, both Moreland and pitcher Grimm converged on first base in an apparent pitcher's fielding practice play gone wrong—except it ended up
switching completely right. For Moreland stretched to receive Andrus' slightly-wide throw, the interplay between Moreland's left foot and the first base bag providing the trick's
misdirection element, distracting 1B Umpire Jeff Nelson just enough so that he focused on Moreland's foot rather than on the ball at the critical moment. As the ball arrived at first base, Grimm stepped in front of Moreland,
stealing the throw into
his glove, Grimm's inadvertent
palm creating the
simulation that Moreland had received the throw. Cognizant of the error, Grimm huddled with Moreland and walked back to the mound, preserving the illusion and a more unconventional hidden ball trick. Because Nelson too turned away to walk back down the first base foul line, Grimm did not need to
ditch the baseball nor
load it into Moreland's glove.
This is hardly the first time magic has made an appearance on the diamond. In 2012, Mike DiMuro famously ejected Indians 3B Jack Hannahan after
DiMuro ruled a phantom catch by Yankees outfielder Dewayne Wise. Hannahan had confronted DiMuro after viewing a replay that clearly showed DiMuro had been duped by yet another unconventional incarnation of the hidden ball trick: a fan actually held the baseball as a trophy just feet from DiMuro when Mike made his incorrect out call. DiMuro later admitted, "I should have asked him to show me the ball since he fell into the stands and out of my line of vision."
As the Penn & Teller Orchestra with Gary Stockdale sang in the one-hit wonder "Liftoff of Love / Ripoff of Love," "
ain't no mystery, it's just trickery." Or in baseball-speak; Keep your eye on the ball.
Video:
Nelson rules an out because Moreland's foot was on the base, though Moreland didn't catch the ball