Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz made absolutely no effort to chase down a single that he misplayed in the outfield, allowing a run to score during Friday's game against Texas.
It happened in the top of the first inning with a Rangers runner on first and nobody out. Rangers batter Sam Haggerty hit a single towards Cruz in center field. Cruz tried to scoop it up with his glove, but it bounced off his glove and continued rolling towards the outfield wall.
Inexplicably, instead of chasing it down, Cruz just stood there and watched the ball roll, forcing right fielder Adam Frazier to chase it down and throw the ball back in. Rangers runner Josh Smith scored easily from first, while Haggerty reached third on the play.
Oneil Cruz yikes... pic.twitter.com/vTGSjLc0QC
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 20, 2025
Haggerty was credited with a single and Cruz was charged with an error. Instead of runners on first and second, the Rangers had a 1-0 lead with a runner on third. Haggerty would score on a wild pitch to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead.
We have seen a fair amount of MLB outfielders misplay balls this season, but in most cases, the outfielder will give their best effort to mitigate the impact of their mistake. In this case, Cruz gave absolutely no effort to chase down the ball after booting it. The lack of effort is not something we can condone at any level of baseball.
If it was up to us, Cruz would have been benched. However, Pirates manager Don Kelly, who took over on May 8 after Derek Shelton was fired, left Cruz in the game. Cruz proceeded to go 0-for-5 from the plate with two strikeouts, and the Rangers won the game 6-2.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports).
