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.
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
And now, a real hidden-ball trick
Rochester third baseman
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
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
More like "Oh snap!" Miller and Giants teammate
"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
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
"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
"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
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
It was. See for yourself:
Danny Wild is an editor for MiLB.com. Follow his MLBlog column, Minoring in Twitter.