Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon

A baseball tricked Zack Cozart into thinking it was foul, then sneakily hooked fair

You may not think that the words of William Shakespeare have much to do with baseball, but hear us out -- what are the witches in "Macbeth" talking about when they say "fair is foul, and foul is fair" if not this strange thing that happened to Zack Cozart in the top of the third inning of the Reds' 14-inning, 3-2 loss to the Nationals on Friday? 

That ball rolled foul for quite a while, before it decided to hook fair, allowing Ryan Zimmerman to get the out. But just watch it make that sudden turn -- there's no way it wasn't cursed by the witches from Macbeth. Even officials knew something strange was happening. "I knew I capped it -- but it was going hard foul," Cozart told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. "The umpire was like 'you ain't living right.' That was tough, for sure."
It was even odd to Zimmerman. He's seen baseballs act up before, but as he told MLB.com's Jamal Collier, this one was unusual. "I've actually seen one at third. It didn't really start foul like that but it started like at the line and I had to run and throw it to first, so basically the same thing. I think I've probably seen it on like a video before, but never really ... in person." Zimmerman also noted that the moment fit right in with the rest of the bizarre, 14-inning game. 
Need more proof of mystical interference? Just look at this swarm of bugs during Cozart's at-bat in the 13th. Yes, the 13th, a certifable black magic number: 

But honestly, Cozart is pretty lucky they didn't want to make him King of Scotland -- a lot of baggage comes along with that.

BarberJordan
beephero
AP_702417634020
NYC