APPEARANCE: Astros slugger Yordan Álvarez gets four-strike at-bat after nobody recognized he set out

Three strikes, and you’re out. At least, that holds true the majority of the time in baseball. Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, nevertheless, got a bonus offer strike in among his at-bats versus the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday.

In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Álvarez was dealing with Red Sox starter Rich Hill, and he set out on 4 pitches. Álvarez took a strike to make it a 1-1 count, fouled off the next pitch and after that took a look at strike 3.

The problem was that nobody in presence at Minute Maid Park observed that Álvarez had actually set out (have a look at the video here). None of the Red Sox gamers or coaches objected when Álvarez stayed in the batter’s box, the other umpires stopped working to fix the mistake, and even the commentators continued without recognizing what occurred. 

Here’s analytical evidence of the oversight, thanks to MLB.com’s Gameday. 

The great news for the Red Sox is that the error didn’t cost them. On the pitch following his prospective strikeout, Álvarez dribbled a regular ground ball to very first base for an out.

If there is one gamer who does not require any additional assistance at the plate, it’s Álvarez. Entering Wednesday’s video game, he was striking .307 with 30 crowning achievement and 71 RBI while leading the MLB in on-base portion (.413) and OPS (1.076).