SEOUL-- Playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Chicago Cubs back on May 27, first baseman Will Craig made a defensive blunder that will live in infamy.
The former first round pick was soon designated for assignment in June. After clearing waivers, Craig was sent to Triple-A.
Turn the clock forward to July. Craig signed with the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on Tuesday to begin a new chapter in a career that will be defined by his gaffe for the foreseeable future.
Craig's new manager, Hong Won-ki, has seen the play, and had this message for Craig on Wednesday.
"I hope he doesn't do that playing for our team," Hong said with a smile, prior to practice at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
Here's the breakdown of the play.
With Willson Contreras on second base and two outs in the top of the third inning at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Javier Baez of the Cubs hit a routine grounder to third baseman Erik Gonzalez, who threw to Craig to complete the inning. Craig was pulled off the bag by the errant throw.
When Baez pulled up halfway up the line and backtracked toward home, Craig, inexplicably, started chasing him. All Craig had to do was step on the first base bag and the inning would have been over.
Meanwhile, Contreras came all the way home amid the confusing play along the first base line. Craig flipped the ball to catcher Michael Perez but Contreras slid home safely. Baez then took off for first and advanced to second when Perez's throw to first sailed past second baseman Adam Frazier covering the bag.
"I have seen that play. It was viral in the major leagues at the time," Hong said. "But in baseball, things like that can happen."
Craig appeared in just 20 major league games over the past two years, including 18 this year. He batted .203/.261/.281 in those 20 games with a home run and three RBIs.
In 33 Triple-A games this year, Craig batted .287/.367/.549 with eight homers and 23 RBIs. He only played first base in the majors but has appeared at third base and right field in the minors.
When announcing their acquisition of Craig, the Heroes said his best defensive position is first base, his blooper-worthy miscue notwithstanding.
The Heroes already have a veteran first baseman in Park Byung-ho. Hong said he'll have to figure out where to put Craig on the field, but it's Craig's bat that the team is looking forward to the most.
Craig is replacing David Freitas in the Heroes' lineup. Freitas, former major leaguer himself, was cut in June after batting .259/.297/.374 with only two homers and 14 RBIs in 43 games. The Heroes are somehow league leaders in runs with 426 after 80 games, though they are in the bottom third in team slugging and on-base plus slugging percentage.
"We have high expectations, as far as his power and his ability to drive in runs," Hong said. "Our scouts also spoke highly of his work ethic and his passion for the game of baseball."
The KBO season is temporarily on hold due to multiple COVID-19 cases from two clubs: the NC Dinos and the Doosan Bears. All games set for this week have been pushed back to later in the season, and the league will go on a scheduled Olympic break from next Monday to Aug. 9.
Craig is expected to arrive in South Korea at the end of this month. He'll first have to serve a 14-day quarantine before joining the Heroes.
Source: Yonhap News Agency