You can't throw a first-pitch fastball to Alcides Escobar, or at least not a hittable one. That didn't stop the Mets' Matt Harvey in Game 1 of the World Series, and the result was basically the best result possible for the Royals: Escobar hit a ball to deep center, and ended up with an inside-the-park homer.
Alcides Escobar hit the first World Series inside-the-park homer in 86 years
The Royals kicked off the 2015 World Series with some history.
Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Escobar got some help from Mets' outfielders Michael Conforto and Yoenis Cespedes, who didn't go at the ball as hard as they probably could have, and then Cespedes kind of booted it into the wall after it fell. That's not to say Conforto and Cespedes were lazy or anything like that — it just seemed like neither committed because the other might make the play. You can see how that worked out.
Escobar's inside-the-park shot is the first in the World Series since 1929, which without context is an obviously long time ago. Let's give it some context anyway, though! The Royals were not even a team until 40 years later. The Mets were created sooner, but not that much sooner, as they had their inaugural season in 1962. The Cubs were still 16 years away from their last trip to the World Series, and "just" 21 years removed from their last championship — thanks to the Mets' victory in the NLCS, the Cubs have now gone 107 years without a World Series title. So, uh, it's been awhile.
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