Crooked Numbers: Hidden balls and bi-cycles

Welcome to Crooked Numbers, a compendium of bizarre, improbable and hilarious Minor League on-field occurrences. Over the first half of the 2018 season there were, of course, plenty such moments. What follows are some of the best (and worst), in no particular order.

The advanced hidden-ball trick

We've all seen infielders pull off the rarely seen hidden-ball trick to fool a baserunner, but on April 5, one batter got some revenge. Iowa's David Bote spoiled Walker Buehler's attempt at a 1-2-3 second inning when he drove a pitch to left-center field, just over the glove of Dodgers left fielder Andrew Toles. The ball disappeared and fans reacted as if it were a home run. Turned out, it was just the Louie's Floor Covering banner hanging on the wall that ate up the ball. Center fielder Alex Verdugo managed to fish the hidden ball out from under the sign, and Bote ended up with a weird ground-rule double:

And now, a real hidden-ball trick

Rochester third baseman Jermaine Curtis pulled off the real deal on April 18 when he tagged out Charlotte's Kevan Smith with an old, familiar hidden ball trick. "They had a rally going, and I figured it was the perfect time," Curtis told MiLB.com. "I try at least once or twice a year, and it usually works best when there's a big situation."

From hidden balls to the wrong balls

Everyone in the Minors dreams of one day getting to the Majors, but we all know there's no shortcuts. That includes using Major League balls in Minor League games. Pacific Coast League umpire Derek Eaton and his crew were tipped off (or noticed) MLB balls were being used in a game between Omaha and Colorado Springs on Aprl 5, prompting a brief delay:
Tweet from @minda33: On field delay as the umpire has discovered they are using big league baseballs. Gotta have PCL balls.
MiLB.com's own Jared Ravich gave us a side-by-side comparison of the MLB and PCL balls, which admittely look like they're different sizes (they're not). The differences tend to come from the seams and how much they're raised in terms of grip. Also, Major League balls are assembled by Rawlings in Costa Rica, while Minor League balls are made by Rawlings in China:
Tweet from @JaredRavich: pic.twitter.com/WkcE5eT8nG

A surprisingly productive day for Ramos

Oklahoma City's Henry Ramos had three RBIs on April 10 thanks to a pair of run-scoring grounders and a bases-loaded walk. OKC's Alex Freedman detailed how rare such an occurrence was, at least at the Major League level:
Tweet from @azfreedman: This is one of my favorite game notes I���ve ever written, but all the thanks goes to @meercatjohn for helping me out with the research. pic.twitter.com/er0PTFyR0b

Bi-cycle: Two Giants nab feat in same game

San Jose's Jalen Miller offered up an early contender for Quote of the Year when he recalled on April 11 his thought after watching a teammate hit for the cycle: "Actually the only thing that reminded me that I was a triple away from the cycle was when Gio hit his cycle," Miller told MiLB.com. "I kind of thought back at the game and was like, 'Oh crap.'"
More like "Oh snap!" Miller and Giants teammate Gio Brusa somehow managed to both hit for the cycle in the same Cal League game.
"I didn't really realize what had been going on," Brusa said. "We were just all excited as a team that we were playing well, and this is just kind of the fruit of being in the moment and playing together well as a team."

An umpire helped Pawtucket turn a triple play

No, the ump wasn't helping the Red Sox win or escape an inning, but he did factor into a bizarre situation in Rhode Island on April 22. Pawtucket escaped a jam with runners on first and second and no one out when Gwinnett's Rio Ruiz smacked a line drive that ricocheted off first base and umpire Jeremy Riggs. The Stripers -- and even a PawSox radio announcer -- were initially confused by the play, but quick-thinking first baseman Sam Travis grabbed the rebound and began a triple play.

Springfield ends game with 4-6-3-1-5 triple play

Umpires also factored into this bizarre occurrence in a Texas League game when Springfield appeared to possibly turn a triple play, appealed following a dead-ball meeting by the men in blue and then walked off the field when the the game resumed after the pitcher took the mound and threw over to third on April 30. The arguments, discussions and disagreements went on for several minutes -- long enough for Cardinals pressbox guys to play The Beatles' "We Can Work It Out" and most of "The Chicken Dance."
"It's going to take a while," Double-A Springfield manager Johnny Rodriguez said. "Little League, high school, college, Minors, Majors, I've been at every level of this game, and I can honestly say I'll never forget that play."
This one is best watched, rather than described, because, honestly, we're still a bit confused:

A good old-fashioned crooked number

Class A Burlington had the scoreboard operator working overtime on April 20 when the Bees dropped 28 runs on Quad Cities to win by three touchdowns in a 28-7 victory.  No. 2 Angels prospect Jo Adell was responsible for eight of the runs as Burlington totaled 24 hits, three homers, four doubles and eight walks in the Midwest League slugfest.
"It's warmed up outside, that's a big plus," said Adell. "But a lot of guys squared up balls before this, and today, they started falling in a ton."

Freeman finally feels free

Iowa shortstop Mike Freeman had the game of his life on April 30 when the 30-year-old clubbed three homers in a win over Omaha. It was the first multi-homer performance for the veteran infielder in 898 games both in the Minors and the Majors.
"That was a first for me, it feels good," Freeman said afterward. "I'm never trying to hit home runs. I think I just caught the wind blowing out on a good night and I had that going in my favor."
It's true: Freeman seems to rarely swing for the fences. The most he ever hit in one season was six, in 123 games in 2014. He had 21 home runs since 2010 entering this season with the Cubbies. His only other homer this season came on May 18.

The Dodgers are over these field trips

The Triple-A Dodgers have struggled in front of kids during day games. (Bobby Stevens/MiLB.com) 
The folks in Oklahoma City have determined that the hometown Dodgers are offering a free lesson in the art of losing when it comes to games primarily attended by school children on field trips:
Tweet from @azfreedman: Make it 0-4 in field trip/education day games and 22-5 in all other games. #banthefieldtripgame https://t.co/Y8QsBQyDTi

Moises Gomez meets Moises Gomez

The Midwest League's biggest, most anticipated rivalry finally came face-to-face on May 10. A showdown between Cedar Rapids and Bowling Green on May 10 featured a match-up of two guys named Moises Gomez:
Tweet from @TheKleinhans: Moises Gomez vs. Moises Gomez... seriously, @bensbiz!#CRKernels reliever Gomez induced an inning-ending force out from Hot Rods outfielder Gomez to end the 6th in tonight's game! @MiLB

Critters invade San Antonio

There really is nothing better in baseball than when some random, lost animal makes its way onto the field during a game. Think about it. That goose during the Tigers game. Squirrels climbing foul poles. Who doesn't like seeing a raccoon storm the warning track? For those who enjoy a flare of the zoo with their baseball, maybe consider going to a San Antonio Missions game: the Texas League club dealt with a cat on May 10 and, improbably, a snake the next day. 

How to catch a save

Bowling Green's Mac Seibert struck out one in the 10th for his first save of the year on May 5, and, all these weeks later, the right-hander still owns a flawless 0.00 ERA. Also related: Mac Seibert is a catcher.
The 2013 34th-round pick has batted in just six games and is 6-for-22 -- but he somehow ended up taking the mound to close out the Hot Rods' 15-13 win at Burlington last month. Seibert, who was also drafted in 2012 by the Padres but didn't sign, played second and third in high school.

Bats beat the weather

Despite the rainy spring weather that plagued most of the baseball world early this season, the Louisville Bats somehow managed to avoid any delays or postponements until mid-May:
Tweet from @LouisvilleBats: RAIN DELAY: The Bats enter their first delay of the season in the bottom of the third inning.No score in Durham, and we will keep you updated moving forward!

They're keeping it close

On May 30, Class A Charleston reported that seven of their 10 games against Columbia had been decided by one run:
Tweet from @ChasRiverDogs: FINAL | Another day, another one-run RiverDogs-Fireflies game, the 7���th of the season. We wrap up the series tomorrow night with @budweiserusa Thirsty Thursday!🐶������ pic.twitter.com/YNuBUSfQqH
The two teams took the field the next day, and the result? A 5-4 RiverDogs victory.

Rattlers turn a 6-4-5-4-5-6 triple play

What's more awesome than a double play? A triple play, duh.
"The infielders were awesome, the outfielders were awesome. I didn't think it was going to be turned into a triple play, maybe a double play," Wisconsin starter Bowden Francis said. "It was awesome."
It was. See for yourself: