On the official play-by-play from Sunday’s Twins game, there was a moment in the top of the fifth inning that is described as an “injury delay.”
It was not in fact an injury delay. It was Twins manager Rocco Baldelli dealing with the next layer of should-be All-Star Joe Ryan.
Baldelli, along with trainer Nick Paparesta, went to the mound after Chandler Simpson lined out to Byron Buxton to center because it came on a 79.9-mile-per-hour splitter that they didn’t know Ryan had.
“Which is about 8 miles an hour off of what he normally would do,” Baldelli said. “And his delivery looked different.”
Ryan tried to give them the thumbs up before they reached the mound. Simpson is one of the fastest players in baseball. Ryan thought he might bunt. So, he improvised a pitch.
“I’m like, if I can disrupt his timing at all, why not?” said Ryan, who claimed he did the same thing earlier this season.
During his explanation to Baldelli, Ryan mentioned that former pitcher Zack Greinke does it.
Rocco’s reply: “You know who else does it? Joe Ryan. So that‘s really it. He was fine.”