Baseball's World of Strange Plays

When it comes to blooper reels, Major League Baseball has more than its fair share of screen time. Whether it is the long season, the number of games every year, or the fact that baseball has been around for so long, there are way too many odd and bonehead occurrences and plays in a single season, let alone the history of this sport. From all the missed catches, the clutch errors, and the head scratching "what the heck was he thinking?" moments, there is no end to the bloopers on the diamond. Anyone that has been to a baseball game has seen the bloopers on the jumbotron and the millions of other screens that they have aired on. We just cannot get enough of them and there is no shortage of footage either. Some of them may be a little chuckle, but some bring laughter for years (my kids still laugh at the guy who leans back to avoid the pitch that bounces off of his cup). Some are crushing blows to a fan while others are just so blatant that everyone has to laugh a little. Here is a look at some of these plays. These aren't all the most famous, but they certainly make you wonder why the players get paid millions.

1908 - Fred Merkle

This play just happens to be one of the more famous blunders made by a big league player in the history of baseball and involves some of the more prominent players, many of which are now in the Hall of Fame. The New York Giants (yes, they used to play in New York) were one of the best teams in baseball and they were facing the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs, at least back when they could reach the World Series, were also one of the best (amazingly, the Pittsburgh Pirates rounded out the top three teams in the game). There were runners at the corners (Moose McCormick on third and Fred Merkle on first) and the Giants were up and the game was tied in the ninth. Al Bridwell, the batter, hit a single into the outfield. Moose McCormick ran home and the game was over. At least that is what the Giants and their fans thought. Merkle, seeing the winning run reach home, turned and headed to the dugout. The problem is that he did not tag second base. While the Giant's fans rushed the field, the Cubs, having had this happen to them the night before, got the ball to second and got the force out. This negated the hit and the Umpires had to deliberate to talk about what to do. In the end, they decided to just replay the game the following day and the Giants lost. The big sore spot for Giants fans is that the Giants lost the pennant to the Cubs by one game.

1909 - Harry Niles

There is one player in the early days of baseball that was known for bonehead plays and that was Harry Niles. Try as he might, Niles just could not seem to shake his erroneous habits that eventually sent him to the minor leagues. Whether he was passing runners on the base paths or just missing the ball completely, Niles seemed to attract errors. One of these errors got him sent to Cleveland from Boston. In 1909, Niles played the outfield for Boston. In this particular game, Boston had the lead by two runs going into the ninth inning. With one out, the bases were stacked. On a can of corn fly ball to the outfield, Niles squared up and made the for sure out. That is when his mind seemed to wander away from the diamond. After making a nice grab in the outfield, Niles pocketed the ball and began to trot into the clubhouse thinking the game was over. The fans started to go wild and his teammates began to yell at him to throw the ball. Thinking that the fans were just excited at the win and the other players were teasing him, he continued to trot in. With only one out prior to the catch, the runners tagged up and started to head home. Seeing that Niles was not going to throw, they raced to the plate and all three made it in. That is when it sank in that the game was not over. Boston ended up losing by one run.

2007 - Ronny Cedeno

While there are several more classic plays that can be considered strange or stupid, some of the more recent ones come to mind. In 2007, Ronny Cedeno was the recipient of one of the more unfortunate accidents that have occurred in the game. This would be the time he was thrown out on a walk. With three balls on the batter, Cedeno saw a great opportunity to swipe a bag. As the pitcher drew into the windup, Ronny broke for second. The pitch was called a ball and the batter walked. This would have normally sent Cedeno over to second. The catcher, seeing Ronny trying to swipe on him, instinctively threw for the out at second. Cedeno slid past the bag in an attempt to get under the tag. Since he had advanced to second and touched the bag without calling a time, he was now fair game. The second baseman tagged him out as he tried to scramble back. I don't know if he was the first, but it sure was entertaining watching someone get an out on a walk.

2007 - Kiko Calero

Not all of the strange plays in baseball are bone headed. Here is one example of a bit of strangeness that got pitcher Kiko Calero into the record book. It is quite possible, although not mathematically, that Calero is the only pitcher in the history of the game to score a hit and two outs on a single pitch. After being called in for relief, Calero inherited a runner with Torii Hunter at the plate. On the first pitch, Hunter singled. Morneau, the inherited runner, tried to make third base and was not able to beat the throw. Seeing that everyone was paying attention to Morneau, Hunter tried to stretch a double. Justin was tossed out at third and the third baseman saw Torii trying for two and quickly whipped the rock over to second. Both runners were tagged out and a single was attributed to Hunter. This made Calero the only pitcher I know of to get a hit and two outs on a single pitch.

2009 - Brett Cecil

One classic error that even the most little of little leaguers knows is that you do not just toss aside a ball in play. It would seem that Brett Cecil needs to go back to the sandlot to remember this. In a game against the Red Sox, Cecil was having a rough time with Jason Bay. He ended up issuing a walk, but that is when he had a momentary lapse of any baseball sense. While on the mound, Cecil notices that the ball is scuffed and it just doesn't feel right in his hand. This happens quite often and the pitcher can just signal for a new ball. For some reason, Brett decided to take matters in his own hands. Instead of calling for time and a new rock, Cecil rolls the live ball into the Blue Jays dugout. Bay then stole second, but didn't know where to stop after that. After a brief deliberation (just long enough to stop laughing at Cecil), the umpires decided to award Bay with third. This seemed to start the troubles for the Jays as they eventually lost 8-1 with several errors in that game.

Whether it is Bud Black wrestling Milton Bradley and putting him on the DL while trying to prevent him from getting ejected for arguing, or the Nationals center fielder throwing a tantrum instead of retrieving the ball after thinking he nudged it over the wall with his glove, there have been some very boneheaded plays. Things get strange in the world of baseball and it happens all the time. Whether it is weird occurrences with numbers and stats or something as obvious as three fielders colliding in an attempt to grab the ball, these things happen. There are even several occasions when cats and bees have interrupted games and given us all something to laugh at. Fans are no exception either (just ask a Cubs fan about which balls to catch in clutch situations). Whenever you watch the game, always keep your eyes out for that weird, strange, or plain stupid occurrence. Just try not to be the one to make it happen.