Craziest thing you've seen in baseball

1. Bottom of the ninth in a postseason college game. "Home" team is down 8-7. Loads the bases with nobody out. Next hitter hits towering popup at home plate. Infield fly is called. Catcher settles under ball, facing toward the screen. Ball never touches his glove, hits the dirt and bounces up and hits catcher in the back. In a panic, runners start to go. Catcher gets ball and steps on home, but there is no force out. Runners now realize that an infield fly is called and all try to retreat. Catcher throws to second, and runner at second is caught in a rundown. After a couple tosses, runner at third decides to try to score. Second baseman guns the ball home, barely getting runner out. Two outs. Man at second easily makes it to third, and now the runner at second sees nobody covering second, so he starts jogging to second. Alas, he fails to see center fielder bolting in. Catcher throws a strike to second, and the guy is out easily.

Game over on a (if I remember right) 2-6-5-4-2-8 triple play.

2. Tied game in bottom of the eighth of the second game of a college doubleheader (seven inning games). Bases loaded, two outs, full count, runners off with the pitch. Hitter swings and misses at a pitch in the dirt. Obvious swing. But since third strike was dropped, an out has to be recorded. Knowing this, catcher collects ball and steps on home and tosses the ball back to mound. Runner at third playfully sweeps foot on home plate, and the umpire points, indicating a run has scored.

Who was the ump? The radio voice for the home school's basketball team.

 

I thought the "dropped ball on third strike" rule doesn't apply when there are runners on base and a force-out situation would apply, like the infield fly rule.

 

The rules still applies if there are two outs.

 

Morganna. End of thread.

 

I was in the stands for the Sammy Sosa Corked Bat Game. It's the only time I've ever started a scorecard and given up, because I had no idea how to score that.

Because it was Wrigley, not many people were paying attention to what was going on. Those of us who were knew something was wrong and immediately started talking about the Pine Tar Incident. But because we were in the stands, we had no idea what was going on. Was it pine tar? Faulty equipment? Just a regular broken bat?

Things got interesting as people got on their cell phones with others outside the stadium, who were watching on TV. Word started spreading pretty quickly throughout the stadium. The city was still in love with Sammy at that time, but it was the beginning of the end.

 

That's pretty weird. Somehow I don't think Bobby Thomson or Bucky F. Dent had the same reactions regarding their el cheapo taters.

 

Ted Turner appointing himself manager of the Braves and sending Dave Bristol on a sabbatical.

 

I once saw Paul O'Neill walk back to the dugout after a called third strike, place his helmet and bat in their rightful spots and sit quietly on the bench.

It still shakes me to this day.

 

Along those lines, there was the time Bobby Cox said, "No, that was a good call. Pitch was a good six inches off the plate. Can't complain."

 

I was at a Pacific Coast League game a couple of years ago.

One out and a runner on first base.

Batter hits a fly ball that is caught by the right fielder.

The right fielder hands the ball to a person in the beer garden along the right field line.

Then he realizes it was only the second out.

Umps award the baserunner two bases, which he takes by jogging directly across the diamond.

Umps call time in, pitcher throws the ball to second. Base runner is out on the appeal.

Two of the stupidest things I've ever seen on a baseball field.

 

I think I read Turner got fined for that? Why can an owner not manage his own team - did MLB forget about Connie Mack?

And what's the deal with making a manager wear a uniform? There's no other sport in the world where a bench boss has to dress up like the players, unless he/she is a player in a dual role. Strange...

You know what was truly scary? Watching Bo Jackson snap a strikeout bat over his knee as if it were a rotten tree branch. That's strong.

 

The guy I saw Wells perfecto with was not a baseball fan to say the least and wanted to leave. He said I gave him the look of death when he suggested it in the sixth inning or so.

The thing was I could explain to him what was going on because I feared I would jinx it. The best I could do was tell him when the leadoff hitter at the top of the seventh came up, I said, "Boy, I really hope this guy does not bat again." He still didn't get it.

All he could do was keep saying, "These Yankee fans really get into the game." To say the crowd was loud after each out is an understatement.

Oh, I was given the ticket and we were about 20 rows behind the Yankee dugout. I hope Satan forgets that deal we made.

My buddy, who turned the ticket down, so he could get a haircut, saw Cone's the next season with his dad.