Elvis Andrus running through stop sign not as clear as appeared

In hindsight, of course, it’s easy to make the call. But in the moment, especially with an aggressive baserunner such as Elvis Andrus rounding third base, it’s not as clear cut, according to Rangers manager Jeff Banister.

We’re talking about Andrus being thrown out at home in the third inning Friday night despite getting a late stop sign from third base coach Tony Beasley.

Andrus was on first base when Jonathan Lucroy doubled down the right-field line. By the time Jose Bautista fielded it off the wall and threw to second baseman Devon Travis, Andrus had rounded third and still getting the go sign from Beasley. But Beasley, who had moved down the line towards home plate, put up the stop sign when he saw the relay. Andrus did not see Beasley’s sign, or saw it too late, and continued towards home where he was thrown out on a close play.

“He picks up Tony coming around second base, Tony is bringing him,” Banister said. “The challenges that come into play, are you far enough down, if you’re too close and try to stop him he’s probably going to blow right by you. Maybe he didn’t see the visual. Was there a verbal? I don’t know. A lot of things happened really fast. Then, when did the stop sign happen? Was he full speed, he’s on turf. Where are your legs at, can you stop?”

Banister had his replay team check the tag because it was so close, which is a sign for him, at least, that it wasn’t a reckless move by Andrus. It’s also a tough play for a catcher to make, receiving a potential one-hopper with a catcher’s mitt, Banister said. Andrus was not immediately available after Friday’s game and was not in the clubhouse early enough to talk before Saturday’s game.

“I know that Elvis is an aggressive runner and I do know that it was an extremely close play at the plate,” he said,. “Stop sign, no stop sign, after the fact, would we have liked him to stop? Yeah, he’d be safe [at third base]. But it’s one of the more challenging plays for a catcher.”

This story was originally published May 27, 2017 at 1:39 PM with the headline "Elvis Andrus running through stop sign not as clear as appeared."