It's a little unorthodox, but it seemed to work.
The Kansas City Royals' pitcher, Josh Staumont drove people a little "wild" when he accidentally kicked a ball to his teammate, successfully tagging out the hitter.
The unique situation was caught on camera, though you may need to squint at Staumont's feet to catch it.
.@KCWoSo makes those one touch passes look so smooth we wanted to try for ourselves.\n\n#TogetherRoyalpic.twitter.com/NgrVwETMc0— Kansas City Royals (@Kansas City Royals) 1630550407
The play saw the ball bounce of Staumont's foot, knocking the ball perfectly to first baseman Carlos Santana, who tagged out the hitter.
In their tweet, the Royals suggested they were emulating another Kansas City team. The account tagged the KC women's soccer team and said they were trying to pass the ball like they do.
The KC NWSL responded.
Others commented on the "wild" play.
Possibly the wildest @Royals play I've witnessed this season...https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1433258405309960200\u00a0\u2026— King of the Kasold (@King of the Kasold) 1630551913
Well, it\u2019s not everyday you can say \u201cI went to a baseball game and a soccer match broke out!\u201d, but here we are. https://twitter.com/royals/status/1433258405309960200\u00a0\u2026— Cat_Ziska (@Cat_Ziska) 1630642751
Could be a more controlled first touch but not badhttps://twitter.com/Royals/status/1433258405309960200\u00a0\u2026— Em (@Em) 1630552123
Just like the Royals planned https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1433258405309960200\u00a0\u2026— theScore Bet (@theScore Bet) 1630554815
Kick save and a beauty.— CG (@CG) 1630556003
When you need an RBI single with one out left in a Final Showdown.https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1433281710456655881\u00a0\u2026— Roman Arbisi (@Roman Arbisi) 1630556580
This wasn't the only time this month the KC Royals have kicked a ball. In a more controversial instance, Salvador Perez was ruled to have accidentally kicked a ball as he was running past first, allowing Nicky Lopez to score.
However, people were split on the ruling of this being "accidental." The video makes it seem like Perez slowed down, anticipating stopping at first, but after he realizes the first baseman missed the ball, and he just kicked it, he turns and keeps going to second.
The play had some thinking Perez cheated.
Runs Booted In.\n\n#TogetherRoyalpic.twitter.com/hWFaxqvYgu— Kansas City Royals (@Kansas City Royals) 1630868919
You can\u2019t kick a ball that\u2019s in play, atRoyals.— baseball kid (@baseball kid) 1630869220
His movement didn't change. He didn't go out of his way to kick it. There was literally nothing he did that wasn't a result of the motion he was already making— Jon Van Pelt (@Jon Van Pelt) 1630870502
incredible how he just kicks the ball into the outfield and keeps going lolhttps://twitter.com/Royals/status/1434594342769934336\u00a0\u2026— ear baby dumbo (@ear baby dumbo) 1630878134
Just to reiterate, this is a terrible throw on a routine play mixed with a botch by the first baseman. \n\nThere\u2019s a lot you can complain about here, but Perez\u2019s part in it is the very last thing to talk about.https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1434594342769934336\u00a0\u2026— Rusty Ellis (@Rusty Ellis) 1630876433
The Royals' 2021 season has been a strange mishmash of the good, the bad, and the weird. They've had a few good wins, a few not so good losses, and at least two instances of kicking a ball.
Which isn't that many, but is weird how it happened twice.
