Chris McMonigle STUNNED by Yankees' Bizarre At-Bat: "You Can't Just Give Up!"

**Chris McMonigle** (0:00)
All right, we got another answer to a question we were looking for. Caballero has spoken on his inexplicable at-bat yesterday. So if you didn't see this in the Yankee game last night, Caballero in a full count, after having a really good at-bat, fouled off a couple pitches, I believe it was an eight-pitch at-bat, full count, and he just before the pitch was even out of the pitcher's hand, he kind of just dropped the bat, and just decided he didn't want to participate in the at-bat anymore. I've never seen anything like it on a 3-2 count. I was listening, driving in, and Evan said that a caller reminded him, or someone emailed him and reminded him, that Lendor, Francisco Lendor, did the same thing a couple years ago. And then Evan said the Lendor explanation. And it's the exact same explanation that Caballero gave today. Now, I don't know if he heard that or someone tipped him off to say, hey, give this excuse on it. But it's pretty much the same explanation. Evan said that Lendor was facing a pitcher that he felt he didn't see his slider. That he was throwing a slider that Lendor just didn't see. And that he swung at it a couple of times in the at bat or whatever. And he was just not picking up the slider. And he felt that he was certain that a slider was coming because that was the strikeout pitch. In 3-2 he thought the slider was coming. And instead of attempting to hit it, he was just going to not even assume he was going to guess right with the slider. And if he threw the slider in the zone, strike three. If he threw the slider out of the zone, which he felt he would, he would draw a walk. So he felt he had no chance in the at bat. And just to make sure he didn't chase it, because in the moment you might give in and swing he just took himself out of the at bat. And that's exactly what Caballero just said. Caballero told Brian Hoke, or at least he's reporting it, that he was expecting an off-speed pitch and wanted to make sure he didn't chase out of the zone. I was taking my chances, this is quoting Caballero, I was taking my chances for him to throw a ball. I've been telling myself not to chase in those situations and not to swing at those pitches. If I see the ball, I swing at it. That's why I dropped my bat. There's no way I'm swinging if I drop my bat.
So he felt an off-speed pitch out of the zone was coming and he didn't trust himself to be able to lay off it. So he just said, I'm just going to assume it's a ball and take the pitch.
I'm sorry, I don't accept that response. I don't think it's a good idea.
I don't understand it, I don't accept that answer.
You got a fastball down the middle. What if you swung at it? I understand you have a tough time laying off the breaking ball or laying off the off-speed pitch with two strikes. I get it. You can't just give up. The answer isn't to just give up. It doesn't matter. I would advise him and I would hope that Aaron Boone would advise him to not do that again. That to stay in the at-bat and trust yourself. Don't give up.
Because, I mean, I get it. If he swung a pitch in the dirt, I would have been pissed off. I get it. He would have been pissed off. It wouldn't have been good enough. It still would have been a strikeout. We'd all be mad that he swung a pitch in the dirt. I get it. But man, oh man, you can't just give up. But that's what he did. He did not trust himself to hold up on a pitch outside the zone, assumed a pitch outside the zone was coming, and just dropped his bat because if he drops his bat, he can't swing.
Not a fan of it. I mean.
It makes me angry, but I'm not going to get angry. Goosefraba, I'm going to try. I just don't understand it. I don't understand. I don't think it's legitimate. You're a Major League Baseball player. Trust yourself. Don't give up. I don't think giving up is ever a good answer. I didn't like it when I heard it from Lindor, when Evan said it. I understood it. Like at least that he was saying he's throwing his Pacific's pitch that I can't see.
I don't know how that's possible. I don't know if it was a sunny day. I don't know if something was with his release point and the background to it or something. But the idea, this wasn't I can't see it. This is I don't trust myself. You have to trust yourself. You're a Major Leaguer. You have to go into every pitch and every bat confident in yourself. Not saying I'm not going to be able to swing at this ball in the dirt. So I'm not going to swing.