SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Take a spin around the Cactus League with “Three Up, Three Down,” an inside look at what is coming up and what went down on Wednesday.
THREE UP
1. May 27 will mark the 25th anniversary of one of the strangest and coolest highlight clips in sports. That’s the night when Rodney McCray, then an outfielder for the Triple-A Edmonton Trappers, ran through a plywood wall in right field pursuing a long fly ball hit by Portland’s Chip Hale, now the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Hale was asked what was he thinking when he saw McCrary blast through the wall a la “Bump Bailey” in the movie “The Natural?”
“Well, first of all, I was hoping he was alive when he went through it,” Hale said. “And once I saw he was OK, I was hoping I could get the inside-the-park home run because the ball came back toward the infield. I wasn’t fast enough. I got a triple. So my first thought was for his health and the second thought was selfish for a hit.”
McCray came out of the bizarre accident with only a few scratches, but he and Hale will be forever linked because of the play.
“Yeah, it was cool at the time,” Hale said. “We played at the stadium for four years so we knew every nook and cranny. When he hit the wall, we were happy he didn’t hit the metal bar that’s there above it. He could have really gotten hurt.”
2. Coming up Friday, Major League Baseball will allow all players to use Snapchat during games that day. That means players will be using their smartphones in the dugouts and in and around the fields as well as the clubhouse and locker room areas. Some players will also test the official SnapBat, which made its debut during last year’s All-Star weekend. Make sure you follow along.
3. Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez, who will make a club-record ninth consecutive Opening Day start on April 4 in Arlington, Texas, threw two innings in a simulated game against minor-league hitters as he readies himself for his first Cactus League start against the Colorado Rockies on Monday. Hernandez struck out five of the seven batters he faced.
“It’s the same approach as facing big-league hitters,” he said. “They’re professional players, too, so I try to face them the same way. I just try to treat it like a real game — go in there and make good pitches.”
THREE DOWN
1. Texas Rangers designated hitter Prince Fielder has been sent back to the Texans to undergo a sleep study after experiencing insomnia-related issues at night since arriving in Arizona. The Rangers thought a sleep study might fix the problem and Fielder is expected to rejoin the team this weekend.
“I think he’s been feeling symptomatic for a while,” Rangers assistant general manager Thad Levine said. “Since it’s only (early) March, we decided to fly him back to Texas to see if we can get him some help.”
2. San Diego Padres veteran utility man Skip Schumaker announced his retirement, but manager Andy Green said Schumaker, 36, who is in camp on a minor-league contract, didn’t want to use the word “retire.”
“He has an aversion to the word ‘retire’ — he thinks those are reserved for Peyton Manning and people who have celebrated storied careers,” Green said. “But his journey is complete. Utility guys don’t retire, we kind of fade into the background.”
3. Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Jean Segura, who is making a push to start at shortstop or second base once the team breaks camp, was scratched from Wednesday’s game against the Padres in Scottsdale after hurting a knee while attempting to steal second base the previous day against the Padres in Peoria. Segura, batting .692, was leading the majors with nine hits this spring.
“The ground over in Peoria is really hard and he just aggravated the outside of his knee a little bit and he just felt it this morning,” Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said. “So the trainers and myself just felt it was best to pull him off and let him feel better.
“He’ll have (Thursday) off, too. He’s seeing the ball pretty well hitting, so we’re not so worried about it. It’s nothing major, just a little sore.”