First Call: 2 Pirates get thrown out at home plate on same play

Tuesday’s “First Call” gives you a glimpse at how the 2020 Pirates season is going to go.

It’s only March. It’s still spring training. But the club’s highlight of the year may have already occurred.

Let’s set the scene.

The Pirates are in the process of losing an otherwise innocuous 3-1 Grapefruit League game to the Toronto Blue Jays.

On the plus side, Trevor Williams threw three scoreless innings in his fourth start and Kevin Newman was 2-for-3 from the leadoff spot.

Then there was this.

During the 7th inning, into a stiff wind, rising prospect Oneil Cruz crushed a ball off the centerfield wall with the bases loaded.

The first runner scored. Then… hilarity ensued.

Just your standard 2 guys being thrown out at the plate baseball play. pic.twitter.com/QqL8xcAHuM

— Cut4 (@Cut4) March 9, 2020

Yup. You saw that right. The Pirates managed to get two guys thrown out at home plate on the same play.

Apparently, Kevin Kramer fell down rounding third and heading for home. And that caused a log jam with Jason Martin. So Toronto’s catcher was able to tag both men out at the same time.

So, to be clear, somehow Cruz managed to hit into a double play while doubling home a run and ending the inning on second base.

That’s nearly impossible to do. A less-than-conventional 8-6-2 double-play double, with an RBI.

That’s a mouthful.

That’s as typical Pirates of a play as you are going to see. But, somehow, with this team that is likely to lose 100 games in 2020, I won’t bet against seeing that same play happen again at some point before October.

If you are thinking, has that ever happened to a Pirate before?

My answer is, “I dunno.”

But I know it happened to a former Pirate once.

That’s former Bucs infielder Dale Berra as the trail runner.

But here’s the good news, Pirates fans. That wasn’t the most humiliating video of the day. A Twitter account called @NFL_Memes published this clip Monday afternoon.

This dude is getting benched for AT LEAST the rest of the year pic.twitter.com/IqGybA22Ab

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) March 9, 2020

That was so bad it would even make Leon Lett blush.

No. 46: @BuffaloBills WR Don Beebe chases down Leon Lett in @SuperBowl XXVII (Jan. 31, 1993) #NFL100

: NFL 100 Greatest Plays on @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/wfPgYqfpHn

— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2019

I don’t know the league involved. The players’ names. What teams they play for. Anything.

Does it matter? Whoever it is that fumbled the ball is probably thrilled that information is unclear.

And, by the way, fumbling the ball in that fashion is one thing. Laying there in shame as the defender picks it up and then runs right by you again is somehow even worse.

To add insult to injury, there should be a flag there for taunting, right?

But, seriously, though. That field?! Wow! Where is that cow pasture?

That was like Heinz Field circa 2002 kinda bad.