Helps win World Series by trying to get hit by pitch, a breakdown

A little bit of legal funny business in the World Series from Maldonado here. This breakdown is brought to you by DraftKings. Now look how close to the plate he is standing. In his previous at-bat, he was not standing that close to the plate. He inched closer to the plate, and he even admitted to it after the game. Right there, I got to get on base. You know, my jaw's living off. Got to get on base. I said, let me get closer. As close as I can. Don't move. Don't want to hit you. Don't move. Hopefully they hit you. Now, for those that are going to get irritated by that, I think you should know the fuller context. He was playing with both a broken hand and a sports hernia. So his odds of getting the hit, probably not incredibly high. He said, it's about winning. The team needed me. The pitchers needed me. He needed to get on base. He literally had a conversation with himself straight out of Major League. This guy, he used to pitch you inside, didn't he? Yeah. Get a bat and step into one. What? Let him hit you with a ball. I need another runner out there. All right. So up he steps. Toes on the line. Elbow hanging over the plate. The pitch is there, but he doesn't get hit. And he even tried, even like, oh, come on, hit me, hit me, hit me. Doesn't hit him. Damn. Was that his chance? The next pitch, that's inside. But that's a strike. So now it's one and one. All right. Let's bust him in again. And now, Sinker runs in, hits some real moves, like, what? He's over the plate. Maldonado walks straight to first base, kind of gives his coach, like, a look, like, are they talking about me? What's going on back there? I mean, I was like, he's on top of the plate. Like, what are you talking about? And look, you know, he even, like, reaches that elbow out, brings it back in. Did he intentionally get in the way? It's a really tough call, because, like, that's where he's standing. And I guess it's legal to be standing like that. But he got exactly what he wanted. He was hanging over the plate and gets hit. And a foul ball, which doesn't make any sense. And then the Phillies challenged that he didn't get hit by the pitch, which maybe they were just hoping they'd go to the replay and, because you can't challenge. It was intentional. And they were hoping they would take another look and they get it. I don't understand. After review, the coach. Yeah, because if it's just hit by pitch, that's the easiest review of all time. That's ******* terrible. It's ******* terrible. Topper doesn't like it. And yeah, this was the third inning where he was standing. And that is the sixth inning where he was standing. And yeah, he moved a full body distance closer, hanging all over the plate, gets on base. And it helps out. Altuve grounds out into the fielder's choice. But that puts Altuve on first base now in Maldonado's spot. And Altuve is faster. And Altuve can go first to third on a single. And Maldonado could not have done that, especially with a sports hernia. And Peña tries to hurt his own hands in celebration. And now the big bad man is up. Three-run home run killer been doing it all postseason. So they take Wheeler out, bring Alvarado in to face Alvarez, lefty versus lefty. And look at the nervous hands behind everyone in the crowd. It's pretty cool. Fastball in. He's trying to jump all over it. He hits it foul. The next pitch. Slider away, and it's way away. And Real Mudo has, let's go back and watch it again. Real Mudo has to do a lot, a lot to block this ball. It's way away. And Real Mudo looks, checks the runners, because the tying runs on third base. So that slider right there might have become a dangerous pitch, because Real Mudo had to fully get out there to catch it. And if he doesn't, game could be tied. Maybe everyone's calculating that. So now the count is one and one. The next pitch, fastball up and in, 99 miles per hour. So it's two and one. Is he going to throw the slider again? I don't know. Because of everything we just talked about, Alvarez has been sitting fastball, and he sits fastball there and hits the farthest home run ever. Not officially ever. There's probably been farther. But that is an absolute bomb. Basically a great high five. Basically wins the World Series. Everybody knew it was over at that point. Three run home runs are daggers. Look at this. Boom. Holy moly. Hit that one, what'd they say, 450 feet? Seemed like it went a lot further. I'd never seen a ball hit up there in that part of the stadium. That's crazy. Celebrating with his team. Ramo, let's go. Blended it up. I have no idea what he's saying, but it's exciting. And then the camera crew goes up to this guy and like, hey man, we'd love to get a shot of you holding the ball for the broadcast. He's like, okay. Can I watch the game, though? World Series. He's like, you still want me to hold this ball? People like this shot, really. Okay. That's a good turnaround to watch the game, though. You guys do your thing. Appreciate it. Thanks. Dusty Baker switched sides. It's a superstition he has, and then he's got the toothpick, and you want to know what's going through his head right now? Has it hit you yet, Dusty? Oh, it hit me, all right. It hit me soon as that ball, you know, not hit over the ... That's when they hit me. Now, what's next? Party. This breakdown was brought to you by DraftKings, so thanks, DraftKings, for doing that. They are partying in Houston still, and Dusty, got to love that Dusty has a ring on his finger now. That's pretty special.