Royals' Michael Massey Has Brutally Honest Response To Rare Rule Violation
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The Kansas City Royals are having a tough enough time scoring runs lately. They certainly don't need to be handing them to the opposition.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the eighth inning on Thursday against the Seattle Mariners, the Royals thought they'd just recorded the second out. But Dominic Canzone's rocket ground ball right at second baseman Michael Massey created an unusual situation.
After replay review, it was determined that Massey's heels were on the outfield grass at the moment the ball left the bat. Massey was slapped with an error on a shift violation, and Canzone was awarded first base.
Michael Massey speaks after shift violation
Baseball has a funny way of playing out exactly how one might expect when such a monumental reversal of fortunes occurs. Canzone's run (in the form of pinch-runner Victor Robles) came around to score on a J.P. Crawford double, and the Royals lost 2-0, dropping them to 76-77 on the season.
Massey was contrite after the game, admitting fault while at the same time hinting that he wasn't in love with the rule.
“I’ve played (in that spot) for four years, never had it happen,” Massey said, per Anne Rogers and Jackson Stone of MLB.com. “It’s on me, as far as -- obviously, I know the rule. Can’t be in the grass. Whether the replay is conclusive or not, we kind of went through all that stuff last year, and I’ve got my opinions on it. It doesn’t help us in this situation. Reality is, that’s the rule, and I’ll be better.”
The Mariners were on top of the situation, and that's what should be expected from a team that has earned the right to compete in the playoffs. Replay coordinator Andy Bissell caught Massey doing something expressly prohibited by the rule book and made him pay.
“Two pitches before I called [field coordinator Louis Boyd] and said, ‘Hey, if a ball is hit to Massey, give me a call. We’re going to challenge it probably,’” Bissell said, per Rogers and Stone. “And sure enough, Canzone hit the ball to him, and there was just enough evidence to show that his heel was in the grass.”
It won't impact whether the Royals make the playoffs (they already weren't going to). But it added insult to injury and proved Kansas City simply didn't deserve to play October baseball.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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