Catcher Martin Madonado was the first Houston Astros player to get on base in the sixth inning of their World Series-clinching Game 6 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
His hit-by-pitch allowed Jose Altuve on base, which led to Jeremy Pena bringing him to third on a single up the middle, which led to Phillies manager Rob Thomson pulling the plug on Zack Wheeler perhaps a bit too early, which led to this moment:
YORDAN ALVAREZ WANTS IT š¤
ASTROS 3 ā 1 PHILLIES IN THE BOTTOM OF THE 6TH! pic.twitter.com/R2COU64f7v
ā ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) November 6, 2022
There was a ton of arguing on ye old Twitter about whether or not Martin Maldonado leaned into the pitch or not. The umpires ended up ruling in favor of the Astros. Social media truthers called cap with his exaggerated lean into the plate to begin with compared to in other plate appearances.
Intentional or not, all of it went down with Maldonado reportedly playing with a broken hand. According to The Houston Chronicle's Chandler Rome, the Puerto Rican had fractured his hand in late August but returned after just two games in the sidelines but kept the entire thing hush hush. The Astros catcher was adamant that there were no doubts about his decision to power through the pain.
āDoesnāt matter,ā Maldonado said after Houstonās 4-1 win in Game 6 on Saturday. āItās about winning. The team needed me. The pitchers needed me.ā
If he did, in fact, lean into the hit-by-pitch, doing so with a broken bone in your hand, and reportedly a sports hernia that will require surgery in the offseason, goes to show how tough of a player he is.
Follow Us
Subscribe