Viral video of Red Sox third base coach's ridiculousness has fans doubling down on questions

Willson Contreras' at-bat in the first inning of the Boston Red Sox's June3 game against the Baltimore Orioles gave viewers a few wild moments. Unsurprisingly to Sox fans, interim third base coach Chad Epperson was front and center in them.

With Wilyer Abreu on first base, Contreras cracked a bouncing single up the third base line and into the left field corner. From the third base coach's box — which Red Sox coaches are infamous for ignoring in the past — it's impossible to see all the way up the line from there. So Epperson ran into fair territory.

He started waving Abreu while the ball was out of sight and continued as he scampered over the third base line and behind O's third baseman Coby Mayo. Epperson was back over the line before Taylor Ward's throw came in, and was it ever perfect.

After an initial "safe" ruling from the home plate umpire, a successful Baltimore challenge had the Sox's second run of the game called back. Ward's throw bounced between third base and the plate, but it landed perfectly in Adley Rutschman's glove as Abreu's hand approached the plate. The play was perfect, but fans still weren't happy.

Red Sox third base coach Chad Epperson runs into fair territory and made another questionable send

Fans on both sides questioned whether it's legal for coaches to jump into the field of play like Epperson did. MLB Rule 5.03 on base coaches doesn't suggest that Epperson did anything illegal since he didn't interfere with the play, but opposing manager Craig Albernaz disagrees.

"I've never seen that before, it looked, just, weird... The next half inning when I talked to [the third base umpire], he said he's never seen that before, either, and he said if he gets in the field of play he has to throw him out of the game," Albernaz said in his postgame presser. "You can't be on the field to impede the position player from making the play."

But the play ultimately went the Orioles favor, so none of it mattered. Abreu was the 11th Red Sox runner thrown out at the plate this year, which raises more questions about Epperson's coaching.

Granted, the June 3 play was close after an excellent throw and tag with poor visibility on Epperson's part. But some of these Sox runners are being thrown out by a mile on Epperson's sends, and with an offense as streaky as Boston's, it can't afford to be losing runs that way. Red Sox runners are also not free of blame — there's been some distracted running and questionable choices in past instances.

It's hard to put Abreu's first-inning out on Epperson because the play by the Orioles was just that good (and his journey into fair territory was funny). But there's no denying that the Red Sox need to clean up their baserunning and coaching, especially at third base.

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