In what should have been a hard-fought Patriots’ Day battle at Fenway Park, a single mental lapse from a $35 million pitcher handed the Red Sox a gift. The mistake left fans so outraged that they are now comparing the right-handed pitcher to T-ball players.

“That was little league style…wow,” one user commented on the viral clip from the Tigers’ second inning on X.

Jack Flaherty pitched a knuckle curve to Carlos Narváez with runners on first and second base. Narváez bunted the 74 mph towards the ground, and Flaherty grabbed the ball while Caleb Durbin was halfway to the plate from third base. The pitcher made an errant throw towards third base, as Hao-Yu Lee couldn’t glove it. The throwing error helped the Red Sox take a 1-0 lead. 

Durbin initially turned around when he saw Flaherty grab the bunt. But he safely made it home as the 30-year-old pitcher threw it to third base instead of running him back. Running at the baserunner is one of the most basic defensive rules of the game. 

And Little League is where you learn these rules. Those games are less about making perfect plays and more about following the textbook. And Jack Flaherty not being able to do that has earned some solid backlash from the fans. 

Jack Rafe Flaherty signed a 2-year, $35 million contract, including a $5 million signing bonus, with the Tigers in February 2025. He used the player option to stay in Detroit for the 2026 season and has recorded a 3.47 ERA from 5 starts. 

He pitched 3.1 innings on April 20, allowing 2 runs and 6 walks. Manager Andrew Jay Hinch pulled him early as he struggled with command and declining velocity. The Tigers’ pitching didn’t particularly see an improvement as the Red Sox scored 8 runs by the end of the 8th inning. 

Detroit’s late fight made for quite an interesting game and offered some hope to the fans. They scored 3 runs in the final inning but ultimately lost the game 6-8. 

The Tigers leveled the series at 2–2 while moving into second place in the AL Central. But fans refuse to go easy on Flaherty after his early blunder.

Fans rip Jack Flaherty’s game awareness and execution

“Imagine blowing up against arguably one of the worst teams in the league right now,” wrote a fan.

The Red Sox are sitting in the bottom half of the AL East with a 9-13 win-loss record. As of April 20, they are 24th in MLB, averaging 3.86 runs per game. Although Boston’s 8 runs aren’t the fault of one player, Flaherty’s early blunder did help them open the floodgates. 

“Runner scores even if Lee catches that, he didn’t even try to run him back,” read another comment. 

Jack’s off-balance throw caused Lee to miss the ball at third base. But fans argue that Durbin would still have made it home even if Lee had been able to glove it. His biggest mistake was not chasing the runner aggressively. Even if it didn’t result in an out, Flaherty could have prevented the run from scoring.

“Bro has always been an airhead. He’s the same guy who got picked off at 2nd base to end a game twice in the same week,” a user brought up previous blunders to rest his case. 

Jack Flaherty played as a pinch-runner for the Cardinals’ Yadier Molina on June 15, 2019. He was thrown out by the Mets’ Jeff McNeil while trying to score from first base, and that ended his attempt to tie the score in the bottom of the 9th as the Mets won 8-7. 

5 days later, he tried the same thing from second base against the Marlins. Flaherty’s attempt to tie the game in the 11th inning remained undone as he was picked off. 

Although these instances seem like desperate attempts, they were actually game-ending blunders, far more severe than the one he made today. 

“That’s a pitcher who wants nothing to do with that play,” a fan commented. 

“The dude is a head case. That’s why he’s all or nothing. Once it starts to go downhill u might as well pull him,” another user stated.

Jack Flaherty is often regarded as an all-or-nothing case. When he is good, he delivers impressive spells, but when he is bad, he shows poor control. 

There are several examples of him pitching 6 to 7 innings, allowing hardly one run, while recording 7 to 9 strikeouts. He also has examples of allowing over 6 runs in just 3 or 4 innings with minimal strikeouts through poor command. 

Every player makes mistakes. It’s part of the game. But Jack Flaherty is facing outrage because of the nature of his blunder. He forgot to follow the most basic rule, and it probably cost the Tigers the final game.