Ranger's Wyatt Langford Tried to Score from First on a Routine Groundout

Texas Rangers rookie almost did the impossible.

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The Texas Rangers lost third baseman Josh Jung to a fractured wrist last night in a 9-3 victory over the Rays in Tampa. Manager Bruce Bochy had no timetable for Jung's return and it will be difficult for the defending World Series champions to replace him. The injury could result in rookie outfielder Wyatt Langford shouldering more of the load.

Langford, selected fourth out of Florida overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, is a top prospect in baseball and has excellent speed to go with everything else. He utilized that speed last night in one of the more exciting, yet unproductive outs of the young season.

The rookie found himself on first base in the top of the fourth with one out and tried to get himself into scoring position by stealing second. Jared Walsh hit a grounder over to third base on the pitch and Langford just kept on running, not pausing for a second as he rounded second or third and tried to beat every Ray to an unoccupied home plate.

Wyatt Langford almost scored from first on a grounder to shortstop pic.twitter.com/giGAurSKS7

— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) April 2, 2024

His valiant efforts were thwarted by Ryan Pepiot, who was able to snag the throw in and apply the tag on Langford in time to record the final out of the inning.

This may have been the first time a player has ever tried to score from first base on a routine grounder to third base where there were no bobbles or errant throws. Honestly, stats for that type of thing are really hard to find. But it certainly doesn't happen often.

Kyle Koster is an editor at The Big Lead.