Detroit Tigers third baseman Kevin McGonigle ripped a full-count changeup below the strike zone from Seattle Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo down the first-base line with two outs and no runners on base in the bottom of the fifth inning.
It happened Friday, June 6, in the first of three games in the series at Comerica Park.
First baseman Josh Naylor fielded the ball near the outfield grass, and Woo immediately ran to cover first base.
“The whole way, I thought he was going to flip it to Woo,” McGonigle said after Friday’s 7-3 win. “Woo was there early, so I expected that. I’m not sure why he took it himself there, but I tried to beat it out when I saw him hustle toward the bag.”
What happened next?
Naylor never flipped the ball to Woo.
“We ended up colliding,” McGonigle said, “but it’s fine. I’m all good.”
Naylor had bobbled the ball and sprinted directly to first base, crossing the basepath from fair territory to foul territory while touching the bag for the final out in the fifth inning. His right shoulder collided with McGonigle’s chest, sending his helmet flying through the air and his body into a spin cycle.
Naylor didn’t seem fazed by the collision.
McGonigle was shaken up.
“I think Naylor was the bigger vehicle coming into first base,” manager A.J. Hinch said after Friday’s game, referencing Naylor at 235 pounds and McGonigle at 185 pounds. “He was going to win that battle. That’s what a lot of first basemen are doing. Kevin is going to the base trying to beat him there, and Naylor is taking an angle, and I think he was betting on winning that collision if it was going to hit, but he was trying to get the out. That is the competition. Luckily, both players avoided anything major.”
Naylor isn’t considered a dirty player.
But he plays an aggressive style of baseball.
Still, McGonigle didn’t understand why Naylor refused to flip the ball to Woo in Friday’s fifth inning.
“It was fine,” said McGonigle, who had a scratch on the left side of his face from his helmet but no further damage. “I was just more confused why he took it to the bag himself. But it’s all good.”
Crisis averted.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why did Josh Naylor run into Kevin McGonigle when he didn’t need to?
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
