Tony La Russa's Bizarre Move Haunts White Sox

Intentional walks are a fairly commonplace strategy in baseball. Sometimes with first base open, sometimes when a count reaches 3-0 perhaps. But intentionally walking a batter with two strikes on him? Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa left everyone puzzled as to this bizarre move, that ended up blowing up in his face.

The guy screaming "He has two strikes, Tony!" after Tony La Russa intentionally walked Trea Turner on a 1-2 count to pitch to Max Muncy who proceeded to hit a three-run homer is peak chef's kiss. (via @NBCSWhiteSox)pic.twitter.com/C9yaR0ZdBU

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 9, 2022

Hilariously, pointed out by Jeff Passan, you can hear a White Sox fan yelling "He has two strikes, Tony!"

Even the White Sox broadcast analyst was dumbfounded.. "On 1-2??.. Can you explain that to me?... Typically at 2 strikes the league batting average is quite low."

Then this happened:

Max Muncy - Los Angeles Dodgers (4) pic.twitter.com/OF0aOFhs9B

— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) June 9, 2022

The Los Angeles Dodgers' Max Muncy "makes him pay" by unloading a 3-run blast. 

Then to top it all off, the lip reading on Muncy's reaction is priceless:

Max Muncy after hitting a 3-run HR immediately after Tony La Russa intentionally walked Trea Turner with two strikes:

"You fucking walk him with two strikes. Fuck you, bitch!" pic.twitter.com/ReGXadtZdu

— Blake Harris (@BlakeHarrisTBLA) June 9, 2022

"You f**king walk him with two strikes. F**k you, bitch!" 

Photo Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports