by Bruce Nash
William Van Winkle “Chicken” Wolf of the Louisville Colonels hit an inside-the-park home run that could only be described as a doggone shame.
He never would have made it around the bases had Cincinnati Red Stockings right fielder Abner Powell not tangled with a snarling canine.
At the time, Louisville was in the American Association, a major league that battled the National League for supremacy. In the game in Louisville, the score was knotted 3–3 when Wolf, the Colonels’ right fielder, stepped to the plate. All eyes were on Wolf, who had smacked a game-tying homer in his last at-bat. No eyes were on the curled-up mangy mongrel dozing at the base of the center field fence.
That would soon change. Wolf slammed a drive toward Powell in deep right-center field. With the crack of the bat, Powell took off—and so did the suddenly awakened dog. The mutt reached Powell before the outfielder reached the ball.
Like a hound after a mailman, the dog clamped its iron jaws on Powell’s pants just below the back of the knee and wouldn’t let go. While Wolf galloped around the bases, Powell tried to shake himself free. Then in desperation he started hopping toward the ball, dragging the dog behind him.
By the time Powell broke free from the mutt’s grip, Wolf had crossed home plate with the winning “inside-the-bark” home run.
Poor Powell. He’s best remembered after more than a century and a quarter for dogging it in the outfield.
JASON MICHAELS
Center Fielder · Philadelphia, NL · September 9, 2004
Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Jason Michaels was oh-so-close to making a circus catch. But instead, he ended up accidentally swatting the ball with his hands into the seats for a ridiculously bizarre home run.
With the home team Atlanta Braves trailing 4–3 in the fourth inning, Braves batter Charles Thomas led off with a deep drive to center field. Michaels got a great jump on the ball and raced to the edge of the warning track and reached up. The ball deflected off his glove and headed toward the ground. Trying to snare the ball before it landed, Michaels slapped at it while still on the run. To his horror, he inadvertently knocked the ball into the first row of seats for a game-tying—and the year’s weirdest—home run.
Michaels planted his face against the outfield wall, not believing what had just happened.
“I was at a loss for words,” Michaels told reporters after the game, which, to his relief, the Phillies won 9–4. “I was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ I almost didn’t think it was real.”
Phillies manager Larry Bowa had never seen anything like it during all his years in baseball. “It was like jai alai,” he said. “He had it on his hand and flipped it out.”
Michaels’ combination of great effort and lousy luck was deserving of national recognition. Fans voted his uncanny trick of turning a would-be spectacular catch into a home run as Blooper of the Year in MLB.com’s This Year in Baseball Awards. Michaels beat out an adventuresome squirrel that held up a Yankees-Indians game with an unsupervised tour of Jacobs Field.
CAP ANSON
First Baseman · Chicago, NL · June 24, 1892
Tom Brown of the Louisville Colonels raced around the bases for the only score of the game because of Cap Anson’s horseplay—literally.
In a pitching duel at South Side Park, home of the Chicago Cubs (then known as the Colts), Brown slapped a grounder to shortstop Bill Dahlen. But Dahlen’s throw to Anson at first was wide, and the ball ricocheted off the grandstand wall and bounded in foul territory down toward the right field corner.
Anson reportedly went chasing after the ball when he saw a huge white sway-backed horse galloping hell-bent for leather straight at him. It was Sam, a nag belonging to the team’s groundskeeper, who used the horse to pull a lawnmower. Someone had forgotten to close the gate to Sam’s corral. And the horse, who for some reason always hated Anson, went after the first baseman with a vengeance.
Anson forgot about the ball and concentrated on running for his life. While Sam was chasing Anson, Brown was galloping around the bases. By the time Sam was corralled, Brown had already scored the game-winning run on an error-triggered “home run” that left fans roaring until they were hoarse.
LASTINGS MILLEDGE
Left Fielder · Pittsburgh, NL · May 6, 2010
When Pittsburgh Pirates hitter Lastings Milledge drove the ball deep into left field at PNC Park, the fans cheered, fireworks exploded, music blared, and he went into a home run trot. There was just one problem. It wasn’t a home run.
In a home game against the Chicago Cubs, the Pirates were enjoying an 8–0 cushion when Milledge came to bat with one out and the bases loaded. He then smashed a liner that Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano assumed would clear the wall. The crowd assumed the same thing. So did Pirates broadcaster Tim Neverett, who told his audience, “Milledge hammers one to left . . . this ball is back . . . it iiiiiiis gone!” The pyrotechnics that explode every time a Pirate goes deep thundered.
Convinced he had gone yard for his first career grand slam, Milledge raised his fist rounding first base, humbly but proudly put his head down, and went into a triumphant trot. Only the thing was, the ball had not cleared the wall. It hit the top and bounced back in the field of play where Soriano gloved it and fired to shortstop Ryan Theriot.
As Neverett corrected himself, his announcing partner Bob Walk interjected, “Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, we’ve got a problem here.”
Milledge had just rounded second base when he realized the Cubs had him boxed in. He didn’t put up any fight. Theriot flipped the ball to second baseman Jeff Baker, who tagged him out. The supposed grand slam turned into a two-run double. Fortunately for Milledge, the Pirates didn’t need the lost runs, winning 11–1.
After the game, Milledge told the press, “It was my fault. I didn’t look at the ball. I was running hard, making sure that I had a double, and I looked up and all the fireworks were going off and I had a lapse for a second.”
Turning a lemon into lemonade, he added, “I think that was the most exciting double in PNC Park history.”
STEVE SAX
Second Baseman · Los Angeles, NL · July 30, 1985
Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Steve Sax did more than hurt the opposing team with a walk-off home run. He also hurt his own coach.
Playing in Dodger Stadium against the rival San Francisco Giants, Sax stepped to the plate with a runner on base in the bottom of the ninth inning of a 2–2 game. No one really considered Sax a home run threat because he hadn’t hit one out in more than a year. But somehow he got all of a Mark Davis pitch and lofted a drive that cleared the wall for a dramatic 4–2 Los Angeles victory.
Because of his inexperience in home run trots, Sax didn’t give just an ordinary hand slap to Dodgers coach Joe Amalfitano after rounding third. No, the exuberant Sax delivered a hyperactive low five so hard that it broke the coach’s thumb.
“I should have known better,” said Amalfitano after his thumb was put in a splint. “I saw the crazed look in his eyes when he hit third base.”
In a 2010 Sports Illustrated article, Sax recalled, “All I remember is, after I hit [Amalfitano], I turned around and saw him jumping up and down and I figured, ‘Damn, he’s really excited that I hit a home run. I was like, wham, and he was like, ‘Yeeee-ahhh,’ and I was like, ‘Right on, Joey.’ He came to the park the next day, and he had a cast on.”
The following year, when Sax hit his first homer of the 1986 season, he trotted around the bases. But when Sax rounded third base, Amalfitano broke with baseball tradition and refused to hold out his hand. Instead, the coach just pointed and pulled an imaginary trigger.
PHIL RIZZUTO'S FIRST HOMER
Shortstop · New York, AL · April 23, 1941
In his second week of the season, New York Yankees rookie shortstop Phil Rizzuto hit the first homer of hi
s illustrious career. And what a homer it was—a two-run, game-winning shot in the bottom of the 11th inning to beat the rival Boston Red Sox 4–2.
The round-tripper was also memorable for another reason. It led him to a bitter introduction into the penny-pinching side of Yankees president Ed Barrow.
After Rizzuto socked the game-winner—a hit that every young player dreams about—he hopped around the bases while a bunch of happy fans came out of the stands to celebrate. As Rizzuto rounded third base, one of the fans grabbed his hat and took off.
The next morning, Rizzuto was summoned to Barrow’s office. The rookie was expecting praise from the owner over the heroic homer. Instead, Rizzuto’s jaw fell to the carpet when he heard Barrow say, “You have to pay for your lost cap.”
It might have been the only time a player was billed by his own team for winning a game.
PITIFUL
PICKOFFS
For the Most Boneheaded Pickoffs of All Time,
The Baseball Hall of Shame™ Inducts:
FRENCHY BORDAGARAY
Center Fielder · Brooklyn, NL · 1935
Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder Frenchy Bordagaray had a penchant for getting picked off base, but for utter craziness none could compare with the time he was nailed while still standing on the bag.
It happened during a home game against the Chicago Cubs. After Bordagaray hit a double, Brooklyn manager Casey Stengel, who was coaching first base, held up the game and went out to talk to his baserunner.
“Now look here, Frenchy,” Stengel said. “I want you to stand on second until Frey [the next batter Lonny Frey] actually hits the ball. I mean stand right on the bag. Don’t take a lead. Don’t even move away from it six inches. Do you understand?”
“Why, certainly, Boss,” Bordagaray replied.
Moments later, Cubs hurler Larry French whirled and fired a bullet toward second base. Shortstop Billy Jurges caught the ball and slapped the tag on Bordagaray for the out.
Frenchy, tapping and nappingNational Baseball Hall of Fame Library
As Bordagaray passed Stengel on the way to the dugout, the disgusted manager hissed, “What were you doing out there? Weren’t you standing on the bag?”
Bordagaray nodded and said, “I was on the bag.”
“Well then, how could they pick you off?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea, Boss,” answered the beleaguered player. “I did just like you told me. I didn’t move from the base even three inches. I was just standing there tapping my foot on the bag, waiting for Frey to bang one.”
“I see,” said Stengel, wiping the sweat from his fevered brow. “In that case, how did Jurges manage to put you out?”
Bordagaray sighed and threw his hands up in defeat. “It beats me, Boss. He must have put the tag on me between taps.”
GEORGE BRETT
Designated Hitter · Kansas City, AL · September 30, 1992
Of all the players who’ve collected at least 3,000 hits, only George Brett had his moment of glory tarnished by an embarrassing gaffe. While the future Hall of Famer was still savoring his amazing feat, he got picked off first like an excited rookie.
In the last week of the 1992 season, the Kansas City Royals superstar needed four hits to gain admittance into the exclusive club, which as of 2011 has just 28 members. The only man ever to win a batting title in three different decades, Brett had remained a consistent hitter year in and year out. In 1980, he batted .390, the highest average for a full season since Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox hit .406 in 1941.
Although Brett had hoped to have the chance to reach the 3,000-hit milestone in Kansas City, he felt fortunate that he was playing against the California Angels at Anaheim Stadium because it was near where he grew up. With friends and family in the stands, and his brother Ken, a former Major Leaguer, broadcasting the game, Brett doubled to left field and scored in the first inning, singled to right in the third, and singled to center in the fifth for his 2,999th career hit.
In the seventh inning, Brett had his first opportunity to make history. He wasted no time by rocketing a sharp one-hopper past Angels second baseman Ken Oberkfell into right field. At the time, Brett had become only the 18th player to reach the lofty 3,000-hit mark. The 17,000 fans at the ballpark rose to their feet to give the popular veteran a standing ovation while teammates mobbed him, and opposing players congratulated him. With fireworks bursting overhead, he doffed his helmet and waved to the crowd. The ball and the first base bag were taken to the Royals clubhouse where a bottle of Dom Perignon was being chilled.
Standing on first base, Brett thought about the three men who helped shape his life as a hitter—his father Jack, his hitting coach Charlie Lau, and his former manager Dick Howser, who were all deceased.
Getting misty-eyed, Brett was still lost in the moment even when play resumed. After Kansas City’s Gregg Jefferies flied out, Brett carried on a brief conversation with Angels first baseman Gary Gaetti, who was asking about the star’s family.
Although the Angels were happy for Brett, they weren’t about to cut him any slack. After all, he was an opposing player, and they wanted to beat him and his team. While a thrilled Brett was still relishing his accomplishment, Anaheim pitcher Tim Fortugno, who gave up the 3,000th hit, snapped the ball over to first. Gaetti caught it and tagged out Brett for the most inglorious pickoff in baseball history.
“I was right in the middle of a sentence to Gaetti and they picked me off,” Brett sheepishly said after the game. “He asked me if my wife was here and I said, yes, and I had friends here from Kansas City. He didn’t even let me finish the sentence.”
BARRY BONNELL
Left Fielder
DAVE COLLINS
Pinch Hitter
WILLIE UPSHAW
First Baseman
Toronto, AL · August 24, 1983
In the most stunning display of baserunning ineptness in one inning, three Toronto Blue Jays reached first base—and all three were picked off.
Toronto and the home team Baltimore Orioles were knotted up at 3–3 when designated hitter Cliff Johnson led off the top of the 10th inning by blasting a home run off Tim Stoddard. After the next batter, Barry Bonnell, slapped a single up the middle, Baltimore manager Joe Altobelli brought in relief pitcher Tippy Martinez. Because the Orioles had used up their two regular catchers and now had second baseman Lenn Sakata behind the plate, Blue Jays manager Bobby Cox flashed the steal sign to Bonnell. Cox figured it would be a cinch to steal against the inexperienced catcher.
Bonnell took a big lead off first, eager to test Sakata’s arm. Unfortunately, Bonnell was a little too eager. Martinez went into his stretch and whipped the ball to first, catching Bonnell flat-footed. Knowing he was an easy out at first, he took off for second and was tagged out.
The next batter, pinch hitter Dave Collins, walked. He had the look of a man ready to take candy from a baby—but instead got his own pocket picked.
He strayed too far off first to become the inning’s second pickoff victim.
With two out and no one on, Willie Upshaw legged out an infield single. Now it was his turn to join the pickoff parade. He was all set to steal off Sakata when, leaning the wrong way, he was picked off first just like his two teammates.
Incredibly, Martinez had retired the side without getting a batter out. The Blue Jay runners did all the work for him.
If that wasn’t embarrassing enough for Toronto, in the bottom of the 10th, the Orioles tied the score on a leadoff homer by Cal Ripken. Then, later in the inning, with two on and two out, Sakata—the very guy from whom the Blue Jays were going to steal the game—socked a three-run walk-off homer to win the game for Baltimore, 7–4.
HERB WASHINGTON
Designated Runner · Oakland, AL · October 13, 1974
Herb Washington prov
ed that the idea of a designated runner—the brainchild of Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley—was way off base.
That was never more apparent than during the second game of the 1974 World Series when the Los Angeles Dodgers picked Washington off first, snuffing out a ninth-inning rally.
Before the 1974 season, Finley plucked Washington from the college track circuit, where the Michigan State University sprinter and four-time All-American had broken several world records. Even though his only baseball experience was in high school, Washington was signed by the eccentric owner to a contract solely as a “designated runner.” His job was to steal bases, so he wouldn’t need to wear a glove or hold a bat.
Throughout the season, Washington never really got off the blocks the way Finley had hoped. The runner stole only 29 bases and was caught 16 times. In the American League Championship Series against the Baltimore Orioles, Washington attempted two steals and was thrown out both times.
Designated runner Washington bites the dustAssociated Press
Nevertheless, Finley waited for the World Series to prove that the designated runner was an innovation that would pay dividends. At last, Herb Washington could show the baseball world his dazzling speed, his daring baserunning, his ability to win one for the A’s with his legs.
His golden opportunity came in the ninth inning of Game 2 with one out. He went in to pinch-run for Joe Rudi, who had just knocked in two runs with a single to cut the Dodgers’ lead to 3–2.
Representing the tying run, Washington edged off first. Ever so carefully, he widened his lead, his feet itching to sprint toward second. He stared at pitcher Mike Marshall, who stared right back. Washington stared. Marshall stared. Suddenly, Marshall made his move. Washington didn’t. The next sound the designated runner heard was the ball slapping into the glove of first baseman Steve Garvey. The next sensation he felt was getting tagged on the hand. The next thing he saw was umpire Doug Harvey’s thumb in the air. The A’s lost 3–2.
