Statcast shows holding Dyson was smart
Royals outfielder likely would have been thrown out at home
DETROIT -- Twitter users were once again pointing fingers at Royals third-base coach Mike Jirschele for not sending a runner from third in a tight game in the late innings.
This time it wasn't Alex Gordon being held, and it wasn't Game 7 of the World Series.
This time it was Jarrod Dyson, who tripled with two outs in the eighth inning in a tie game with the Tigers on Sunday night. Kansas City went on to win, 2-1, in 10 innings.
But it would appear there is scientific evidence to suggest that Dyson, even faster than Gordon, still would have been out at home -- by a lot.
According to Statcast™ data, Dyson reached a top speed of 21 mph, and went home to third in 10.9 seconds.
If Dyson had maintained his top speed -- and that's a big if -- he would have arrived home from third in 2.9 seconds.
The relay throw from Detroit second basemen Ian Kinsler came in at 75.2 mph. And because Kinsler was roughly 150 feet from home, the throw would have gotten home in 1.3-1.5 seconds.
The replays seemed to indicate Dyson was just a foot past third when Kinsler released the ball.
The throw was on line, and using the Statcast™ data, one could assume that Dyson would have been out by 1.4-1.6 seconds. That means Dyson would have been about halfway home when the throw reached the catcher, say 40-45 feet.
That sounds an awful lot like the distance most Royals players and coaches thought Gordon would have been out in Game 7.
"I was hoping they would make a bad relay to Kinsler or he would bobble it a little," Jirschele said, "and then I would have sent him. But [Dyson] just got to third or a step beyond when Kinsler had it. I wasn't going to send him with Kinsler's arm. No way."
Dyson agreed.
"When I hit it, I knew it was a triple," Dyson said. "Anything after that is a bonus. But I didn't know where the throw would be. I was just looking to pick up Jirsch and he gave the stop sign."