Even Major Leaguers make dumb mistakes. Here are a few of the more memorable ones – mental lapses, not physical errors.
The Ultimate Bad Hop
On May 29, 2010, the Angels’ Kendry Morales hit a walk-off grand slam in the tenth inning to beat the Mariners, 5-1. Unfortunately, when he took a celebratory jump onto home plate, he fractured his left ankle. He would miss the rest of the 2010 season and all of 2011 after several setbacks in his attempted return. “It’ll change the way we celebrate,” said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. “It sure is exciting, but you always wonder if it’s an accident waiting to happen.”
The Tag that Never Was
On May 27, 2021, in the top of the third inning with two outs and Wilson Contreras on second base, Cubs Javier Báez hit a routine ground ball to third base. Pirates third baseman Erik Gonzalez threw wide to first, pulling first baseman Will Craig off the bag. Baez stopped in his tracks so that Craig could not tag him. Craig, instead of merely retreating to the bag to end the inning, decided to try to tag Báez.
As Craig pursued, Báez kept retreating until he was a few steps away from home plate. Meanwhile, Contreras was charging toward home plate, attempting to score. Craig flipped the ball to the catcher, but Contreras slid in safely. Báez then took off for first base. The second baseman was late covering the bag and, as the throw sailed into right field, Báez took second base. Said Craig after the game, “I messed up . . . I just kind of lost my mind for a second.”
Maury Wills Team to Defeat
Or, as another journalist put it, “Where there’s a Wills, there’s no way.” Wills lasted less than a year as manager of the Seattle Mariners, making a series of horrendous decisions.
On August 6, 1980, in Wills’ second game as manager, the Mariners were ahead of the Angels 4-3 as the Angels batted in the bottom of the eighth. With runners on second and third and two outs, pitcher Dave Heaverlo was facing anemic-hitting Rick Miller with even worse-hitting Dan Whitmer on deck.
Wills decided to walk Miller intentionally. Angels manager pinch hit for Whitmer with Jason Thompson, who was batting .317. Thompson doubled to defeat the Mariners, 5-4. Asked why he gambled on the possibility of Thompson batting rather than pitching to Miller, Wills replied, “I was hoping Thompson wouldn’t hit for Whitmer.”
Managing by hope.
Fiddle While Rome Burns
On May 22, 2010, Washington Nationals center fielder Nyjer Morgan ran back on a ball hit to the wall by the Orioles’ Adam Jones. As Morgan leaped up to make the catch, the ball hit off his glove. Thinking the ball went over the wall for a home run, Morgan spiked his glove into the ground in disgust and began to stomp around. Little did Morgan realize the ball actually stayed inside the park and was sitting on the warning track while he was having his tantrum. Left fielder Josh Willingham raced over to grab the ball and throw it in, but Jones beat the relay home for an inside-the-park home run to put the Orioles ahead, 4-2.
Oops, Kid! Give me that ball back!
On August 12, 2000, Benny Agbayani etched his name into New York Mets infamy. In the fourth inning, with the Mets leading 1–0, the San Francisco Giants loaded the bases. With one out, Bobby Estalella lifted a fly ball to Agbayani in left field. Agbayani, thinking his catch was the third out, sauntered over to the stands and gave the ball to a child, Jake Burns, and began to trot toward the dugout. Upon realizing his mistake, Agbayani sprinted back to the stands, pulled the ball from the hands of Burns, and, after more confused delay, threw toward home plate. Unfortunately for Agbayani, once the ball left the field, the play was dead, and all three runners were awarded two bases, causing the Giants to take the lead, 2–1. The Mets came back to win the game, 3–2, and Agbayani gave another ball to Burns.
The Third Time’s the Charm
(I know I said I would not include physical errors, but of the three errors Tommy John made on one play, the last was mental.)
On July 27, 1988, John was pitching for the New York Yankees in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers. With Jim Gantner on first base, Jeffrey Leonard squibbed a ball back toward the mound. John muffed the grounder for the first error, then threw the ball wildly past first base for the second. Yankees right fielder Dave Winfield retrieved the errant throw and unleashed what looked like a perfect strike to home that would have nailed Gantner. But John, who should have let the throw go through, inexplicably intercepted it and then threw wildly past the catcher for his third error on the play, allowing Leonard also to score. The three errors on one play tied the record for pitchers. Tommy John surgery is not the only thing the lefty is known for.
I’ve got to throw this one in. It’s not from the Major Leagues, but I wouldn’t put it past a big leaguer to do this.
My cousin Brian Sieger sent me this video of his son Luca, who recently graduated from high school and is playing in the summer Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League. The video shows two Luca at-bats. In the first, he smacks a line drive to left.
You can hear the center fielder yelling to the left fielder, “In! In! In!” as the ball drops for a single. No harm there. But in the next at-bat, you can hear the center fielder also yelling to the right fielder, “In! In! In!” The ball flies over the right fielder’s head, and Luca cruises into second base with a double. The center fielder likes to call “In!” at every opportunity!
