Being a third base coach is kind of a thankless job. When you have a good game, you’re just doing your job. When you mess up, you’re the goat, and not in the endearing ‘greatest of all time’ way.
The Philadelphia Phillies won Game 1 of the NLWCS against the Miami Marlins Tuesday, but third base coach Dusty Wathan still found himself at the forefront of the conversation for much of the night.
With runners on second and third base and no one out in the bottom of the first inning, Alec Bohm lined a ball towards the right field foul line. Marlins right fielder Jesús Sánchez caught the ball, and Kyle Schwarber tagged at third base. While not fleetfooted, Schwarber looked prepared to go home, until Wathan put up the stop sign.
Manager Rob Thomson explained the decision — which became more of a talking point after the Phillies wound up stranding both runners in scoring position — after the game.
“Well, in the first inning, you have to be careful there because Sánchez can throw,” Thomson said. “It [his throw] was a little bit offline. By our reports, he’s a more accurate thrower than that throw there. And you’ve got [Bryce] Harper coming to the plate. So you better make sure with the catch making the first out that guy’s gonna be standing up at the plate.”
That was the beginning of an eventful night for Wathan in the third base coach’s box.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Bryson Stott singled into center field with runners on second and third base and no one out. J.T. Realmuto scored easily from third base. This time, Wathan was more aggressive and sent Nick Castellanos from second base, only for him to be thrown out at home plate by Miami center fielder Jazz Chisholm.
Still, the most notable moment involving Wathan Tuesday came in the bottom of the eighth inning. With Harper on first base and one out, Castellanos roped a double into the left-field corner. Wathan clearly put up the stop sign at third base, but eventually got out of Harper’s way when it was obvious the two-time NL MVP had no intention of stopping at third base.
Bryce Harper totally ignored Dusty Wathan 😠pic.twitter.com/Z27rFPtITU
— Rob Hodge (@RobHodge_) October 4, 2023
Harper’s decision to keep going worked out, as it gave the Phillies an insurance run. Following the game, Harper said he wasn’t ignoring Wathan, but he just didn’t see him.
“Once I got halfway to third, I didn’t really pick Dusty up, so that was my fault on that,” Harper said. “Usually when I see him, I’m like ‘OK, I gotta stop.’ He’s got a really good eye over there.
“It just worked out in that situation,” Harper continued. “Nine times out of 10, I’m going to stop in that situation, because Dusty does a great job over there. It worked out that time. It got us to 4-1, and good momentum going into the ninth inning to get us through.”
Thomson — speaking in the media room, minutes before Harper spoke in the clubhouse — was asked if Harper has leeway to make his own decisions because, well, he’s Harper.
“No, no,” Thomson said with a chuckle. “He’s just so aggressive, and he wants to win and wants to score. It’s not like I tell him ‘Hey, if somebody tells you not to run, go ahead and run if you want to.’ We don’t do that. But he’s just so instinctive, and so aggressive that sometimes he runs through stop signs.”
And, while smiling, Castellanos made a valid point about if Harper did ignore the stop sign.
“Bryce does that all the time, and he’s miraculously safe more often than not,” Castellanos said.
Whether Harper saw Wathan and ignored him or didn’t see him because he had already made up his mind that he was scoring, everything worked out. The Phillies are a win away from playing the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS. But just file this night away.
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