What is the dumbest thing you ever did in a game?

Senior year ('84) playing the best team in our county, and our rival, at their field. They were undefeated and this was the last regular season game of the year. Bottom of the 7th, 1 out, bases loaded. We were ahead 6-5. I was playing 2B and playing double play depth against a lefty pull hitter. Sharp grounder hit to me. I fielded it cleanly and stepped up in baseline to tag runner and throw to first. Coach always taught us when tagging runner, allow momentum to turn you toward OF, continue spin and throw to first. This instead of swiping at runner and taking a chance of ball being dislodged from glove. Guess what I did? Ball got away from me, runners from 2nd and 3rd scored...game over!

Throwing a changeup to the 8-hole hitter and 6 weeks of healing, then rehab for a shattered wrist. The catcher was an attorney?? Go figure.

Forget Bull Durham, shake em off!!

hmm hit on the opposing pitcher's girlfriend before the game. Needless to say his fastball seemed to have a nasty tail towards me most of the game. The pitcher threw a 3 hitter, I got all 3 hits.

Looking bad: College summer ball, tie game, bottom of the ninth. I came up with a runner on first, no outs. I get the bunt sign. I was an excellent bunter. I had never failed on a sacrifice.

My bunt was less than perfect. The pitcher made a nice play coming around the ball and threw out the lead runner at second. Since I had never failed bunting, I started for the dugout out of habit. I was tagged out ten feet off the base. Not only did I not advance the potential winning run, I completely took us out of the inning.

Looking stupid (why I hate pitchers taking popups): In Babe Ruth ball I had less than 100% confidence in my regular season team one game. After a couple of bad plays I called for a high pop from the mound. The ball drifted back. I drifted back, tripped over the rubber, fell on my *** and the ball hit me in the ribs.

Join the club: I think most pitchers have pussed a ball to first and had it bounce over or float over the first baseman's head for an error. Or turned an fired and easy out to first and missed the first baseman by ten feet. Where were Southwest (want to get away for a while) ads when I needed them?

My son is NEVER going to quit hearing about this one. He hit a blistering line drive, looked like it might (key word here is might) go out. He immediately started his homerun trot to first base and managed to turn a solid triple into a single.

Luckily he's learned from that and has never failed to hustle from that moment on.

It didn't happen to me but I saw it in a game in which my son was catching. The coach was tying out a young pitcher to see how he would do. He walked the first batter so there's a man on first. He did a full wind up on the first pitch to the next batter, so the coach yelled to him "stretch" to which his promptly began stretching. He did the whole routine: toe touches, arm twerlings, all while the bench and the crowd died laughing. He has since been called Stretch, a nick name he will never shed.

quote:

Originally posted by Louisiana Lightning:
It didn't happen to me but I saw it in a game in which my son was catching. The coach was tying out a young pitcher to see how he would do. He walked the first batter so there's a man on first. He did a full wind up on the first pitch to the next batter, so the coach yelled to him "stretch" to which his promptly began stretching. He did the whole routine: toe touches, arm twerlings, all while the bench and the crowd died laughing. He has since been called Stretch, a nick name he will never shed.

Now, this is a classic!!!

Son was playing SS and threw his glove about 5 feet up in the air to try and stop a line drive. Didn't work and you should have seen the look on his coach's face!

In little league, my sons team had a kid that everytime he pitched the ball, his hat would either fall off or cover his eyes. After about 10 pitches, the coach comes out of the dugout ane tells the kid, "hey, tighten up your hat"

"I can't coach, it's already as tight as it can go"

Hollering out across the diamond, the coach gives this advice...

"Then take your thumb, and put it in your mouth, and blow really hard. That outta tighten it up."

Good kid, tried it, didn't work so well.

quote:

A Winnipeg teen and his parents are suing an amateur baseball league, saying their son was denied a chance to compete on a national level because of logistical problems caused by his severe allergies.

not me, but thought about this thread. It may not belong here, but it is interesting.

link

While playing in college… I was on third base, runner at first base. 2 outs full count, runners at 3rd (me) and 1st.

Had a brain cramp (thinking the bases were loaded) and took off with the pitch taking the standard wide path to the plate. Hitter swings and misses at strike three as I’m about 25 feet from home plate. That might be the only time I’ve ever been glad that one of my team mates struck out. Ball four would have made me look extra foolish.

Coach simply said, “What the hell were you doing?”

Was sitting on the bench during a legion game and loaned my cap to the right fielder whose cap was too big for him. Went into the game wearing his cap which was way too big for me and immediately walked the bases loaded.

I called time and walked out to right field where he refused to give me my cap back. It took a while but I got it back. I struck out the next batter and then got the next hitter to fly out to right. The right fielder gunned down the runner trying to tag.

Between innings he grabbed my cap and went out to right field again and after walking the leadoff man I had to go through getting my cap back all over again.

That was a long time ago and some of the specifics may not be exactly right, but I do know I was wild with the hat falling off, had to go out to right field twice to get my hat, a runner was thrown out at the plate by the right fielder and I didn't give up any runs. It was having to go out to right field twice that made it so dumb.

Okay, this didn't happen to me however I did witnessed what was one of the funniest things I have ever seen at a baseball game.

Here is the breakdown:

Very fast runner on first base. (has stolen two bases earlier in the game)

Defensive team calls a deception play.

Pitcher delivers the pitch far enough outside so the batter can’t get to it

The runner gets a great jump and takes off to steal the base.

Our catcher then lobs the ball in the air to the second baseman who calls ball, ball, ball (like he is fielding a routine pop up).

The base runner is obviously confused and thinks there is a pop up and takes off back to first base so he doesn't get doubled up however it's too late. By this time the first baseman has the ball and tags the base runner out.

My son was playing first base at the time and he said he almost couldn't make the tag because he was laughing so hard. I felt bad for the runner however he was a good sport and everyone had a good laugh. The umpire summed it up when he said, “I have been in baseball for 30 years and I never seen anything like that before”.

I swear to all of you this is a true story. It happened at an Impact Game tournament at East Carolina University.

I guess it would qualify as dumb - and it was football not baseball.

Senior Year - big mid-season game against arch rivals - 3500 people there (which is real big for a NY State Football game).

Beginning of game - I am lone man back on kickoff.

Kid kicks it a couple yards into the end zone - I get it - decide to run it - and as I get to about our 5 yard line - I cut left - ball squibs out of my arms - goes straight up into the air - and defender catches it and runs it into the end zone for a TD.

The whole play took about 5 seconds - I was never hit (LOL) - and I never should have attempted to run it out of the end zone.

Nice start to a big game (LOL).

That was the worst one I can remember.

Playing adults mens softball,
I was a runner on 1st base.
Ball hit in the OF,
And running around 3rd so fast my hat came off.
Got the stop sign from 3rd base coach. Scrabbled back to 3rd base, but was tagged out.

Going back to the dugout, One of my best friends of all time.

Said, Why did you go back for your hat before going back to third??

I said, I didn't do that did I.
They all said yes and started laughing.

If you can't laugh at yourself, Who can you laugh at.

EH