Entering Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians, Franchy Cordero had committed seven errors on the season for the Boston Red Sox with five coming as a first baseman. In one play in the second inning, he added two more to that total.
With runners on first and third with nobody out, Cleveland’s Nolan Jones came to the plate. He hit a chopper to Cordero at first base. Boston’s first baseman got a glove on the ball but couldn’t field it cleanly. From there, things only got messier for Cordero and the Red Sox.
The curse of the Red Sox lives on pic.twitter.com/tOJF93wZHK
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 27, 2022
Things didn’t get any better after the errors. Owen Miller, who moved to third on the play, scored on an RBI groundout from Austin Hedges. Jones himself later scored on an RBI double off the bat of Myles Straw.
Cordero’s misplays caught the attention of the MLB world.
I am simply going to become the Joker nowpic.twitter.com/3bYsUdwroc
— Paul Wentworth (@paultwentworth) July 27, 2022
Franchy at first base. Oh, my.
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) July 27, 2022
Franchy Cordero is not a first baseman.
The #RedSox haven't had one defensively since 2020.
Cleveland takes a 1-0 lead in the 2nd on that latest gaffe at the infield corner.
— Bill Koch (@BillKoch25) July 27, 2022
Chaim to Franchy at the deadlinepic.twitter.com/aI4bUrfhjg
— Gresh & Keefe (@GreshKeefe) July 27, 2022
Maybe the Red Sox should place a call to the Oakland Athletics ball boy.
In all seriousness, as detrimental as getting no outs on a potential double play ball is, errors are going to happen. Cordero’s major gaffe here was compounding the fielding error by rushing a throw, thereby making another one. That was a physical error compounded by a greater mental one.
Nathan Eovaldi would have had a decent chance of limiting the damage had that not happened. As it happened, Cordero’s misplays put his team in a pretty serious early hole.
