Someone Throwing a Seed to Home Plate With the Game on the Line Is One of the Best Things in Sports

Your mileage may vary, as it always seems to, but for my money there are precious few things in sports as exciting as a play at home plate with the game hanging in the balance. There’s a complete unpredictability as to what kind of throw will be uncorked. And what type of hop it may take. It’s never completely clear if it will be on-line. Or if it will afford the catcher enough time to apply a tag with a hard-charging runner approaching, whose sprinting speed we never see enough sample sizes from to commit to rote knowledge.

We had such a play last night in Houston, where Texas Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo hosed Chas McCormick at the dish in the bottom of the 10th inning with a 97.3 mph seed.

Houston would go on to win an inning later so Gallo’s heave only delayed the inevitable. But let no one take away how cool of a moment it was. A sacrifice fly can be one of the more boring plays in baseball or the most thrilling. A wide array of possibilities.

Now, back to the debate at hand. Surely, the final seconds of a college basketball game are a more thrilling climax than the throw home. Outside of that, not so sure there’s much clearly superior. Embrace debate.

If there’s any upside to the extra-innings rule it’s the possibility of seeing this type of action more frequently.