Jacob Stallings won the National League Gold Glove last season, at least in part due to his receiving skills. Dating back to mid-2020 and continuing through Thursday’s Marlins home opener, he has caught 138 consecutive games (1,177 2⁄3 innings) without allowing any passed balls. For context, Jorge Alfaro during his Marlins tenure—208 games and 1,666 1⁄3 innings—totaled 28 passed balls. What a refreshing change.
But watching on Thursday, I felt certain that I had witnessed the end of Stallings’ streak. After going nearly 20,000 pitches without a passed ball, he couldn’t secure an Anthony Bass slider in the top of the seventh inning.