The Top 5 Strangest Baseball Moments

I love baseball. One of the things I love the most about it is the unpredictable nature of the game. You never know from one day to the next if you will see a no hitter or a 15-14 slug fest. Then again you may be able to bear witness to some outlandish plays, the kind that make the blooper reel on This Week In Baseball. Here are my top five strangest moments in Major League Baseball. Now since this is for MLB plays only, it rules out one of my all time favorite plays, Rodney McCray chasing a fly ball and running through the fence while playing for the minor league Vancouver Canadians. Now on with the countdown.

#5 The Humpty Dumpty of Baseball: It was July 4, 2008 and the Yankees were facing off against the Red Sox. Kevin Youkilis was at the plate and sent a deep drive to left field. Johnny Damon headed back towards the fence and crashed into it, strangely enough leaving the ball sitting on top of the fence. Damon would end up injuring himself with his efforts and Youkilis wound up on third base with a triple.

#4 I Know His Arm is Bad but This is Ridiculous: Once again Johnny Damon was in the middle of an odd play. On July 21, 2004 the Baltimore Orioles David Newhan drives a ball to center field that bounces off the wall. Johnny Damon, here with the Red Sox, chases after it and gets ready to throw the ball back into the infield, when out of seemingly nowhere Manny Ramirez dives to cut the ball off. Even though Damon is known for his weak throwing arm a three man relay was not needed. Ah Manny is nothing else you are entertaining.

#3 Even Cats Know the Cubs Are Cursed: 1969 was just another tough year in a long line of disappointments for Cubs fans. For much of that baseball season the Cubs were in first place in the National League East. On September 9 they still held a slim 1 1/2 game lead over the New York Mets. They were at Shea Stadium when someone released a black cat onto the field. This cat knew exactly where to go as it headed straight for the Cubs dugout. The cat stopped by Ron Santo and just stared at him. From that point on the Cubs went 8-17 and wound up eight games behind the Mets to finish the season.

#2 Is It Buggy Here or Is It Just Me: It was Joba Chamberlain's rookie season and everything seemed to be going his way, that was until the midges descended on him on October 5, 2007. It was game two of the American League Division Series and Joba was on the mound against the Indians in Cleveland. The bugs were collecting on his neck and you could see they were bothering him. The up close shots of the bugs crawling on him made you feel like they were crawling on you as well. Joba would allow the tying run to cross the plate and the Yankees would eventually lose 2-1.

#1 Beware of Fastballs: It was only spring training , but it still is the strangest moment I have seen in Major League Baseball. The Arizona Diamondbacks were taking on the San Francisco Giants with Randy Johnson on the mound. Johnson threw a fastball and a dove with horrible timing flew by and was promptly reduced to a poof of feathers. After all was said and done the pitch did not count and there was one less dove in Arizona.

Sources
Samantha Newman, Damon Hurt as Ball Sits on Top of Wall, mlb.com
This Year in Baseball Awards 2004 Edition, mlb.com
James Lincoln Ray, Chicago Cubs Legendary Curse, baseballsuite101.com
John C. Kuehner, Midges Rise From Lake Erie and Buzz Yankees, cleveland.com
B.T. Grimes, Dove was Guessing Curve, todayinbaseball.com