(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Spring training games are underway in Florida and Arizona. It’s certainly fun to see the major leaguers back, along with fresh-faced hopefuls, on the field playing baseball. But this early in the Grapefruit and Cactus League seasons, we’re likely to see some rough play occasionally as players resume baseball activities and regain the feel of playing in a ballgame.

Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco may have been the beneficiary of an opposing player getting a feel for his position and perhaps some rules of the game on Saturday. Earlier in the ballgame, Franco hit his first home run of the spring, a solo shot off Dietrich Enns. During his second plate appearance, Franco followed up with another home run, but one of the inside-the-park variety. But this wasn’t a case of the slugger racing around the bases while the ball ricocheted across the outfield.

As you can see in the following video, Franco can thank Yankees center fielder Tyler Wade for scoring on what likely would have been a double into the left-center gap.

After watching that play, it might not surprise you to learn that Wade hasn’t played very much outfield during his professional career. Actually, he hasn’t played in the outfield at all during a game. A natural shortstop since being drafted by the Yankees out of high school in 2013 (in the fourth round), Wade, 22, has played that position through most of his four minor league seasons.

Wade didn’t necessarily look like a novice center fielder when he couldn’t scoop up Franco’s drive to left-center. But he may have indicated his inexperience when the ball ricocheted off his glove and rolled underneath the outfield wall. Wade raised his arms to signal that he couldn’t find the ball, but the umpire never ruled that the play was over. He then made matters worse when he reached under the fence to retrieve the ball (thus showing that he could indeed see it), keeping it a live play.

Phillies third-base coach Juan Samuel astutely noticed that the umpire never called the ball out of play and told Franco to keep running. Wade picked up the ball as Franco was rounding third base, and Samuel waved him home to score. With that, Franco had his second home run of the day, though he had to run a bit more to get this one.

About Ian Casselberry

Ian is a writer, editor, and podcaster. You can find his work at Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He's written for Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation.