sprinted toward second base Sunday afternoon in Miami, seeking his 10th stolen base of 2017. As he neared the base, he dropped his body into a headfirst slide, like he has thousands of times in two decades dedicated to baseball.
This time, Trout’s peripheral vision informed him the throw from home plate was bouncing away from Marlins shortstop J.T. Riddle, so he looked up to ascertain if he could take third base. He couldn’t, and when his eyes refocused on second base, it was too late. His left thumb had caught the base, overextended from his other fingers.