New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells jogged his way into an unusual double play during the ninth inning of Wednesday’s game versus the Tampa Bay Rays (box score) when he lost track of how many outs there were in the frame.
Wells was stationed at first base with one down when outfielder Trent Grisham placed a bunt toward third base. Tampa Bay’s José Caballero fielded the ball and threw out Grisham for the second out in the inning.
That’s when things went awry for Wells and the Yankees. Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda kept his eyes locked on Wells, who, in short order, began to jog toward the Yankees’ dugout on the first-base side of the field. Aranda alertly threw to shortstop Taylor Walls, entrapping Wells in a pickle. The Rays then converted the out to force extras.
“I just thought there were three outs,” Wells told reporters after the game. “Very embarrassed and disappointed, for sure. You let the guys down when you do that, you give away an out like that in a big spot. … I think I was just being an idiot.”
Here’s a look at the play in question in all its moving image glory:
The Yankees had only just tied the game at 3-3 before Wells reached on a single, with the tiebreaker coming on a home run by shortstop Anthony Volpe off reliever Pete Fairbanks. They would go on to win on a walk-off hit by Ryan McMahon in the bottom of the 11th.
“Thought there were three outs,” manager Aaron Boone told reporters after the game. “Obviously can’t happen… What do you say? Can’t happen.”
Wells, 26, entered Wednesday hitting .211/.272/.430 (92 OPS+) with 15 home runs and five stolen bases in his first 86 games. His contributions had been worth an estimated 0.5 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference’s calculations. That’s a downgrade from 2024, his first full season, in which he came in third place for the American League Rookie of the Year.
The Yankees, who ended Wednesday with a 59-49 record and a four-game deficit in the American League East, were tied for the second fewest outs on the bases in all of Major League Baseball before Wells’ flub. Per Baseball Reference, the Houston Astros were the only team with fewer outs on the bases coming into Wednesday, albeit while also taking fewer extra bases during the run of play.