A.J. Pierzynski takes a page out of soccer's book to draw interference call

Drawing inspiration from soccer's gamesmanship, Cardinals catcher A.J. Pierzynski didn't take any chances that hitter's interference wouldn't be called on Wednesday night. In the bottom of the second inning of Game 4 of the NLCS, Travis Ishikawa struck out on a ball in the dirt, his backswing clipping Pierzynski in the head.  

After a brief moment spent searching for the ball, the Cardinals catcher realized that he had better draw the foul, otherwise Hunter Pence was going to wind up on second. So, like a tranquilized bear or toddler taking its first steps, Pierzynski hit the dirt.

It was the right decision to make -- after all, there was contact on the play. Though Pierzynski has a long way to go if he ever wants to match this German third division player: