Cody Bellinger knows he hit a ball out of the park on Opening Day 2021, but the stats won't show that because Justin Turner misjudged the drive.
Wait, what?
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Here's what happened: Bellinger launched a drive to the left-field wall at Coors Field in third inning against the Rockies, with Turner on first base. Colorado left fielder Raimel Tapia had the ball in his glove for a split-second but the ball fell out and went over as the glove hit the top of the fence. Turner, however, thought Tapia made the catch and didn't see the ball pop out of the mitt.
So, Turner, who had run past second base while the ball was in the air, went steaming back toward first. And he steamed right past Bellinger, who knew he had gone yard.
Cody Bellinger just hit a home run with a man on first, but he passed Justin Turner on the base path. So he hit a ball over the fence that counts as an out and an RBI single. pic.twitter.com/8KV3LHQ6sw
— Ben Porter (@Ben13Porter) April 1, 2021
The result: Bellinger was called out for passing Turner on the bases, even though Turner really passed Bellinger in reverse. Bellinger was credited with an RBI single (Turner was waved home by rule).
That's a heck of a way to start the season.
