This Twins Minor Leaguer Made the Best Heads-Up Play of the Season
If journeyman outfielder Ryan LaMarre is going to make it back to the big leagues, plays like the one he made on Sunday afternoon will help get him there.
LaMarre is currently playing for the Twins’ Triple A affiliate, the St. Paul Saints. In Sunday afternoon’s game against the Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders (the Yankees’ affiliate), he scored a run on one of the best displays of heads-up baserunning you’ll ever see.
After reaching base on a single and advancing to third on a double steal, LaMarre was 90 feet from home with one out. Saints infielder Elliot Soto came to the plate and got jammed on an inside pitch from Michael Gomez, hitting a weak pop-up into foul territory on the first-base side.
Gomez, catcher Mickey Gasper and first baseman Billy McKinney all chased after the ball and when McKinney made the catch, LaMarre saw his opportunity. With no one covering home, he dashed toward the plate and slid in just ahead of McKinney’s tag.
Have you ever seen a run score on a pop-up that short? (And yes, it was scored as a sacrifice fly.)
LaMarre’s run made it 7–1 in favor of St. Paul and the Saints hung on to win 8–5 despite a RailRiders rally in the ninth.
LaMarre has played 128 games in the majors across six seasons with six different teams. At 34, time is running out for him to make it back to the big leagues, but as he showed on Sunday, he’s got the sort of baseball IQ that could lead to a coaching career.
