"Are you allowed to do what Antonacci did?"
If you had a dollar for every time somebody wondered about the legality or propriety of a choice Sam Antonacci made on the baseball field, you wouldn't be rich, but you'd have a mildly interesting story when paying for a coffee.
The specific question above belongs to Texas Rangers TV analyst Mike Baczik, who was the latest to wonder what he was watching when watching Antonacci in the sixth inning of the White Sox's 10-4 victory on Wednesday.
Antonacci occupied first when Braden Montgomery hit a bouncer to shortstop that might've been an inning-ending double play. It was a two-hopper to the right of shortstop Nicky Lopez, who then flipped across his body to Justin Foscue at second, so perhaps it developed slowly enough for Montgomery to beat it out regardless.
But Antonacci detected a way to influence the outcome, so instead of sliding into second, he rounded the bag, passing right in front of an infielder who was about to unload.
In real time, it looks like a glitch in MLB The Show. When pausing it, Antonacci appears intent on a crossbody blocking the second baseman into left field, or swallowing a mouthful of Rawlings.
But no, he's just cutting the bag and continuing onto third, which Texas play-by-play broadcaster Dave Raymond quickly affirmed was within the rules. While Foscue made the same inquiry to second base umpire Chris Guccione, Baczik marveled at the ingenuity.
"That does make it tougher on the second baseman, right?" Baczik said.
And as Brenton Doyle stepped in to face Robby Ahlstrom with runners on the corners and two outs, the Texas booth lingered on Antonacci's maneuver a little longer. Raymond noted that while the score was 7-2, "it is the kind of thing that could be a difference." A few pitches later, that notion was validated by Doyle, who hoisted a full-count changeup over the left-center wall for a three-run homer that more or less put the game on ice.
This isn't the first time Antonacci has tried this ploy. He previously gave it a shot back on June 16 in Yankee Stadium, and it unfolded in almost the exact same way, just with different proper nouns. You had a White Sox right fielder (Everson Pereira) hitting a bouncer to the right of the shortstop (Anthony Volpe), who aimed to start a double play. He flung the ball to the second baseman (Jazz Chisholm Jr.), who tried to make the turn as Antonacci cut the bag in front of him, but the throw was late and the White Sox remained in business.
Like Foscue, Chisholm had questions for the second base umpire (Gabe Morales) afterward ...
... and the extra life indeed led to a run, as Andrew Benintendi walked and Luisangel Acuña legged out an infield RBI single. It was just an 11-1 game while all this unfolded, so nobody drew attention to it, whereas on Wednesday, with the White Sox blowing open a game that had been within the bounds of striking distance, this is the first time it actually mattered.
Antonacci isn't the first to remain upright and in motion on a force, as baserunners started making a concerted effort of running through second base a few years ago. However, that was specifically with two outs and a runner on third, with the idea that beating a flip to second base would allow to run to score when the inning would otherwise be over, even if a rundown ensues afterward.
There have also been instances of runners breaking up a double play by not sliding, but Antonacci is combining both elements by rounding second base in front of an infielder making a turn on a potential double-play ball.
I can't say for sure he's truly an innovator in this space, but googling and Redditing all sorts of terms comes up empty. Regardless of whether there's a precedent, there's no risk in calling this the essence of Antagonacci, where his intensity allows him to identify an opening that others either can't see, or can see but deem foolish, embarrassing or unsporting to try.
Baczik made that connection on the Rangers broadcast, tying Antonacci's baserunning to the multiple dekes he pulled off in the World Baseball Classic back in March.
"[Antonacci]'s the same guy that made the fake dive for Italy and caused issues for whoever they were playing; I don't know if you can remember to that World Baseball Classic when Italy was kind of the surprise team, but he was doing things like that where you don't think of doing things," Baczik told Raymond. "He's one of those very high-IQ guys that have thought of kind of trick ways to make the game more difficult on the other team."
And back in April, I talked to Antonacci about those dekes, and he explained that while it's an unconscious maneuver now, he had to train himself to think about it in high school.
This bit of swashbuckling appears to be rooted in the same practiced instinct. Reviewing every play where he's been forced out at second this season, he's slid feet-first every other time he was close enough to do so, with these two exceptions. It seems like the choice boils to not just the game state, but the timing, the steps, the positioning of the second baseman -- everything, apparently, but the score.
In either case, on a team that prides itself on picking up any and every $5 bill on the ground, Antonacci is the guy who boxes out people to create space. An onlooker might not think much of getting bumped once, but when it happens a second time, they're not likely to write it off as an accident.
