“Baselines? Where we’re going, we don’t need baselines.” Texas Rangers’ third baseman Adrian Beltre has long been a bit unconventional, whether it comes to avoiding head rubs or Gatorade baths or moving the on-deck circle, but it’s not quite so easy to avoid a tag on the basepaths. Beltre tried to do so Sunday against the Houston Astros by running way off of the baseline during a rundown and heading towards the pitcher’s mound, but he was called out anyway.
Adrian Beltre learned that baselines don't move as easily as on-deck circles: https://t.co/oIJN9opgWz pic.twitter.com/9eKQUCV3DI
— Cut4 (@Cut4) August 13, 2017
Good job, good effort. And hey, avoiding the tag was worth a try. But Beltre was so far off here that it wasn’t even close, and he made this probably the easiest call of the day for that umpire. Here’s another look at the whole rundown:
Adrian Beltre is a national treasure. pic.twitter.com/blxp3sHW78
— Ranting Oriole Bird (@RantingOriole) August 13, 2017
And a screencap of Beltre running towards the mound:
At least this produced something different than what we usually see. But it didn’t help the Rangers in the end; they wound up falling 2-1. Beltre did account for that run with an earlier solo shot, though:
TIED UP, VIA THE #BELTREBLAST!
Adrian Beltre takes Keuchel to right and it's 1-1! #LetsGoRangers #LoneStarGrit pic.twitter.com/HthikoocaA
— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) August 13, 2017
So, a home run and a crazy highlight, but not together. That’s not a bad day, all things considered.
[Cut 4]
