Erstad / Estrada Train Wreck

threw the ball 4 ft behind erstad. he barely had to move. should have put it in his earhole.

 

In my opinion it was not a dirty play. Being an ex-catcher, I don't like seeing guys get planted that way, but it is a part of the game. The way I saw the play was that Erstad had 2 choices - 1) Slide on the outside and reach to tag the plate with his left hand (Estrada had only about half the plate blocked) or 2) Run Estrada over. Granted, choice #1 would have been the safer play, but if he would have choosen to slide he probably would have been out since the throw beat him there. Choice #2 was the only way he could have scored a crucial run, so he went with that. I bet if you asked Estrada, he's say, "I wish he would have choosen to slide, but it wasn't a dirty play - just part of the game." I guess they don't call them the tools of ignorance for nothing. Just my two cents.

 

try more anti-braves fans cheering it on.

 

I'm an Orioles fan, and you've seen me long enough to know that I speak my mind anyway.

Anyone who says Erstad wouldn't have scored easily without running Estrada over simply wasn't watching. The replays clearly show that Estrada had absolutely no chance to tag him, and plenty of plate was wide open for Erstad to touch.

 

It was a legal play but imo he didn't have to go high on the hit to Estrada. He could have bowled him over without the head shot. Good thing for him that Maddux wasn't still pitching for the Braves and on the mound the next day. Erstad would be pulling a baseball out of his earhole..