Andrelton Simmons Lucked Into A Little League Homer Because He Was Playing The White Sox

Andrelton Simmons, the best defensive shortstop in the Majors since he made his debut in 2012, has had a career year at the plate this season, with a slashline of .305/.362/.427 that is on pace to shatter his previous career-highs. On Thursday against the White Sox, he bumped up his slugging percentage a few more points, notching a triple and a double in a 12-8 Angels win.

That triple, though, was actually a triple and an error; an errant throw by the White Sox shortstop allowed Simmons to trot on home for a Little League homer to put the Angels up 6-2. In fact, his “triple” really shouldn’t have been scored a triple in the first place. Center fielder Leury Garcia took a pretty dogshit route to the simple line drive up the middle, misplaying it enough for it to bounce all the way to the wall. To be fair, he was positioned poorly, playing right of center, but a baseline route there gets you the ball, at the very minimum.

Had the White Sox’s defense simply stayed in front of the ball, then threw the ball accurately to the correct person—like baseball players normally have to do—I wouldn’t be forced to make fun of them in a blog. Their failures are to be expected, though. The White Sox are, after all, only above the historically terrible 29-73 Orioles in defensive runs saved (dRS) in the American League. They fucking suck at fielding.