DETROIT — There was one out in the second inning on Sunday at Comerica Park when Detroit Tigers second baseman Andy Ibáñez belted a line drive into left field. Catcher Jake Rogers was leading off second base and began running almost immediately.
Rogers had the read, and in the third-base coaches’ box, Joey Cora was doing what he so often does: waving his arm.
Cora established his base-running ethos early in spring training when he told players, “I’m sending you guys.”
“And he means it,” catcher Carson Kelly said. “That’s something you love. You love having those aggressive plays. You can’t play this game scared.”
In this latest example, Rogers ended up wheeling around third, nearly catching Javier Báez, whom Cora had coincidentally held up at third when Rogers doubled earlier in the inning.
“I think the only runner that Joey has held up (this season) was Javy on the double that Rogers hit,” manager A.J. Hinch later joked.
As Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Davis Schneider’s throw reached home plate, Rogers slid headfirst and reached his hand in to touch the plate. The play was exceptional base running from Rogers. It was also the latest example of a base-running mindset that has been plus and peril for the Tigers this season.
In the case of Rogers, the Tigers scored to pad an early-inning lead, a run that would prove useful in a game that was tied going into the bottom of the ninth. But on other occasions this season, aggressive sends from Cora have resulted in less favorable outcomes. The Tigers have made six outs at the plate this season, tied for the seventh most in the major leagues. In nearly every instance, there has been immediate scrutiny. Some of the sends have no doubt been closer to reckless on the spectrum of base-running aggression.
There was early in the season against the Mets, when Cora sent Kelly home just as left fielder Brandon Nimmo gathered a ball in shallow-to-mid left field. Kelly was out by a mile.
“We’ve got to separate ourselves from safe/out being right or wrong,” Hinch said after that game. “Joey did the right thing. That’s a bang-bang play where they have to make a throw from left field. You are going to see a lot of those around the league. That’s an easy send for me with two outs in a 0-0 game.”
Then there was earlier this month against the Marlins, when Cora began waving Zach McKinstry home from second base nearly as soon as an errant throw from catcher Christian Bethancourt went into the outfield. Miami center fielder Jazz Chisholm loafed to the ball in center field. But once he picked it up, McKinstry had yet to touch third. Rather than put on the brakes, Cora sent him to a doomed fate at home.
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