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Dodgers: Max Muncy gets yanked off second base for bizarre third out

Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Dodgers Way

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 24: Max Muncy #13 of the Los Angeles Dodgers is tagged out by Willy Adames #1 of the Tampa Bay Rays after attempting to advance to second base after a single during the fifth inning in Game Four of the 2020 MLB World Series at Globe Life Field on October 24, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Dodgers star Max Muncy got pulled off second base immediately after drilling an RBI single. Um, interference?

Pros of the top of the fifth inning: Max Muncy delivered another key two-out RBI knock for the Dodgers, making this a 3-1 ballgame.

Cons of the top of the fifth inning: Muncy was tagged out after his momentum forced him to overrun the bag at second. Or is that what happened?

Muncy somehow ended up speeding into Willy Adames‘ arms, who wrapped the full breadth of his reach around the Dodgers slugger’s body and eased his journey off the bag and to the ground.

To the naked eye, it definitely seemed like Muncy was pulled down by a member of the opposing team. You make the call.

Was Muncy careening off the bag anyway? Sure. Every fan watching this play with the naked eye was gritting their teeth, attempting to ease him onto the base like Carlton Fisk waving a home run fair. But there was certainly some chicanery here, especially visible in the slow-mo replay.

Crazily enough, this isn’t the first time we’ve encountered obstruction like this in World Series play — and John Smoltz in the booth was very much in attendance the last time similar shenanigans went down.

In Game 2 of the 1991 World Series between the Twins and Braves, Ron Gant may or may not have been lifted off the base so that Minnesota first baseman Kent Hrbek could tag him out (he certainly was).

Add in the famous A-Rod glove slap from the 2004 ALCS against the Red Sox, and you have a pretty funky triumvirate of weirdness here.

As always seems to be the case when something controversial happens, the Rays immediately punched back and made this a tighter contest after Muncy was erased; Hunter Renfroe led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a solo shot to left.

So, what do we think here, Dodgers fans? Fair or foul?

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard and Dodgers Way for 4 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast twice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for eight years. Previously, he was a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.