The Minnesota Twins are in the thick of the postseason race, just two games behind the Cleveland Guardians for first place, but there was a different kind of drama this week when Kyle Farmer challenged MLB and its official scoring of a pretty wild game he was involved in over the weekend.
Farmer appeared to hit an inside-the-park home run against Texas on August 17. He hit a ball to deep center field that bounced oddly off the wall, allowing Farmer to get back to the point after reaching third base.
It looked like a Little League home run, but Rangers outfielder Leody Taveras was called for a mishandling of the ball and Farmer’s hit was ruled a triple. He appealed that ruling but was officially suspended this week.
Everything about this game looked like an inside-the-park home run, but it wasn’t to be. Dan Hayes of The Athletic delivered bad news: Farmer’s request to change the scoring was denied and his inside-the-park home run doesn’t count.
Instead, it is counted as a three-pointer plus the error that led to his point.
Kyle Farmer’s appeal was denied. His triple in Texas remains a triple. He was not awarded an inside-the-park home run. He did not get past Go. He will not collect $200. #MNTwins
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) 22 August 2024
The official score of the game doesn’t count for as much as it seems. While it would have been cool if it had been ruled an inside-the-park home run, the fact that Farmer made the game at all was enough for Twins fans.
It’s been a brutal year for Farmer, who agreed to a $6 million arbitration settlement over the winter but failed to live up to the deal. He was the Twins’ most expensive contract, signed during an offseason in which the team drastically cut payroll, making his poor season even harder to swallow.
He’s hitting a miserable .195/.288/.292 with a -0.8 WAR, but by all appearances he’s part of the clubhouse core that exudes the good vibes that have accompanied the team all season. He’s basically a more expensive version of Nick Gordon, but if he’s part of what’s working behind the scenes and making things better on the field, then that could help make things right.
Farmer didn’t have the season everyone wanted, but it was still great to see him experience this moment – even if baseball isn’t quite as much fun as it seemed.
More news and rumors about the Minnesota Twins
