Baseball Players Are Hustling and It's Extremely Exciting

One of the more perplexing things about baseball is that the athletes have gotten so much more athletic and yet the running game has been devalued. This makes sense, of course, if you weigh the cost-benefit structure but the risk-adverse approach too often robs fans of heart-in-throat moments involving baserunners who simply won't stop until they've reached home plate, consequences be damned.

So it was enjoyable to see two examples of devil-may-care baserunning in the Majors yesterday. First, let's watch Tampa Bay's Manuel Margot score from second on a wild pitch against the Los Angeles Angels. Just 180 feet of determined sprinting, seamlessly going from a stolen base mindset to a go-ahead state of mind.

As impressive as this bit of hustle was, it pales in comparison to New York Yankees' Gleyber Torres outsmarting a chaotic Houston Astros defense to score from first on an infield single. How? Well, there are some fancy diagrams and CGI polygons to break it down, Sports Science style.

If you haven't seen it, there will be a moment where you begin to doubt there's any way Torres will touch home plate. Hang in there — the plot twist is better than you might think.