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ON THE DIAMOND — Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco turned a routine groundout into anything but on Wednesday — and kicked off another unwritten baseball rule debate in the process.
During the Rays' victory on Wednesday, Franco fielded a ground ball, and before he threw to first, he casually flipped the ball out of his hand, caught it again and then threw the runner out at first.
Baseball is fun.
— Bally Sports Florida & Bally Sports Sun (@BallySportsFL) May 4, 2023
Wander has fun. #RaysUppic.twitter.com/sWXuNq9ue2
Was the move completely unnecessary? Sure was, but that didn't make it any less fun to watch.
"I mess around at practice sometimes. I tend to do that at practice," Franco said through a translator following the game. "Through instincts it just happened."
If Franco had messed up the play at all, he would have been hammered by fans, social media, and even his own dugout. In that regard, it was similar to when an NBA player turns around before seeing if a 3-pointer goes in. That usually goes well for Steph Curry, and others become a meme (looking at you, Nick Young).
Franco made a pretty bold (and fun) move. But one that some, predictably, were not on board with.
I'm all about having fun playing a kids game, but yea, I don't like this at all from Wander Franco pic.twitter.com/c1wtWH88hi
— BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) May 4, 2023
Funny enough, Franco broke another supposed unwritten rule on Wednesday when he bat flipped after hitting a home run. He clearly does not care about the so-called unwritten rules.
It was a bad day for purists; a good one for everyone else.
