Rob Refsnyder is OK, according to Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli. The center-field wall at Oriole Park, however, may not be.
In the fifth inning of the Twins’ 10-inning win over the Orioles on Monday, Refsnyder hustled back while tracking the ball, hoping to catch a long fly from Ryan Mountcastle. But just before Mountcastle’s game-tying homer sailed over the wall -- a projected 410 feet -- Refsnyder crashed into the (padded) center-field wall. He never took his eye off the ball -- which is normally encouraged. But as a result, he smacked into the wall hard without slowing down.
It was only Refsnyder’s 14th career appearance in center-field, but he jumped right up, brushed off the warning-track dirt and continued the game.
Ahead of Tuesday’s rematch, the Orioles' grounds crew took it upon themselves to have a little fun at the expense of Refsnyder. Akin to the recent Joey Gallo outline at Globe Life Field, a tape outline of Refsnyder’s body appeared on the center-field wall -- complete with the No. 38, it included all the details, even the outline of the spikes on his cleats.
Baldelli and other members of the Twins had mixed feelings about the outline, but they know that moments like this happen -- and so do the forthcoming jokes.
“It’s certainly a tradition in the game, when we see a guy go full speed into the wall as if the wall isn’t there, and that happens,” said Baldelli. “We’ve seen it. This outfield -- obviously with the unique shape out there -- can kind of trick you and make you think you’re in a spot where you’re not. But it’s hard to get away from something like that. We see it, we’re going to see it again someday, probably sometime soon in the game. Maybe not so original but still part of the game.”