During the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, a career first occurred for catcher A.J. Ellis.
With two outs in the bottom of the second inning the Dodgers had runners on the corners for Brandon McCarthy. On a 2-2 pitch from Matt Moore to McCarthy, Ellis surprisingly broke for second base.
Not only did he arrive safely, Rays’ catcher Luke Maile’s throw went into center field, which allowed Pederson to score from third base and the Dodgers to take a 1-0 lead.
Prior to Thursday, Ellis had only attempted to swipe a bag four times in his career, including once this season. Naturally, the Dodgers’ dugout erupted once Ellis slide safely into second base.
Ellis took notice and immediately asked if he could have the bag, according to Jon Weisman of Dodger Insider:
“It was fun to laugh and fun to look in the dugout and see my teammates going nuts,” Ellis said. “I called Marvin Hudson, the second-base umpire, over and asked him if I could have the bag right then. He said, ‘No — you have to wait until in between innings.’”
The base was taken and authenticated and placed at Ellis’ locker. Kershaw greeted his close friend in the clubhouse, which was part of the overall enjoyment Ellis took away from his career achievement:
“It’s just fun to have memories with a bunch of guys you have shared history with for so long, so when something like that happens, it’s fun.”
While Ellis has taken a backseat to Yasmani Grandal since the 2015 season, his maturity and professionalism remains in tact. Ellis is batting .194/.289/.258 with one home run, five doubles and 11 RBIs in 46 games. The number that for now sticks out most is one stolen base.
