Ball boy for the Indians makes 'a fielding error'

What was your worst? Most embarrassing?

A couple of mine (there were so many...)

Pee Wee - I'm in left field. Forgot to go to the john before the game. The port-a-jon was busy every inning when we came to the dugout. We only had 10 guys and one was hurt. I finally gave up and took off for the Methodist church around the corner which had a very nice, private wall to use. Came back and the rest of the team was on the field looking for me along with coaches for both teams.

HS - I'm a freshman at Midway playing OF in Midway's first year back in baseball - and in this game coaching 3rd base and kinda forget where I am, drifting toward home a bit. One of our guys is on 1st. Another hits a liner to the deep out. The guy on 1st is a blazer and comes tearing around the bases. Its gonna be close for him to make it all the way home. And he makes the turn around 2nd and sees me way out of position - basically in the path of his curve between 3rd and home. I can see him waving but it doesnt click soon enough. He makes the curve, I make exactly the wrong adjustment, he slams into me and that's that.

First year as an umpire, I'm working the plate for one of my first varsity games. Things are going well until a foul ball clips off my shin guard ... and I realize I forgot my cup.

There's not enough time between innings to run to the car, get my cup and put it in place by the next inning, so I just hoped for the best. No damage done, but I sweated out the last four innings more than both teams combined.

Trading Joe Morgan, Dennis Menke, Jack Billingham and Cesar Geronimo for Lee May, Tommy Helms and Jimmy Stewart.


Oops, that wasn't me. That was the Astros.

found this from 1968-69 season at Midway, while boxing up stuff for the move back to Dallas last year. Those were our district teams at the time. I guess it is safe to say we were a bit smaller

Not baseball but adult softball. I subbed in as a catcher while on vacation during Missouri's Show Me State Games tournament. Note that I played baseball until I was 13, and church league softball for a season when I was like 20, so I'm not a baseball player by any stretch.

Apparently you can steal in softball...didn't know that until the first guy on base took off on me in this tournament.

When the next guy gets to first, I'm now prepped to throw a "screamer" if he goes for a steal. I see him taking off and as soon as I catch the pitch I load up and as I'm about to unleash a "laser" I realize the 2nd baseman isn't even covering the bag. Too late in my wind up to not throw it so I change trajectory and throw it at the 2nd baseman. My throw arrives right as the runner is passing by and it almost takes his head off.

Obviously the runner is pissed. It blows up into a huge ordeal w/ the other team being pissed and wanting to fight me. I felt a little bad, but I was more in the camp of you're stealing in adult league softball...that's kinda what you deserve.

Worth mentioning that they didn't try another steal.

NM. Double Post

Not my mistake, but a memorable one I recall.

1996, I'm working the plate as umpire when the Lobos visited Golden Eagles in district play. The Golden Eagles coach does not like my strike zone, seems to think I should not watch the corners when his guys are batting, and should have a county-wide zone when his pitcher is on the mound.

He really does not like it, when the Lobos get to his pitcher and take the lead with a 2-run frame in the 7th inning. The Golden Eagles are unable to come back and they lose to the Lobos.

As I am walking off the field, the Golden Eagles coach runs up from behind me, yelling about my strike zone. Not wanting to eject a coach after the game is over (partly because an ejection means I have to write up a report for the school district), I wave him off and remind him the game is over.

Coach steps in front me and grabs my shirt. He then goes on a tear telling me how I will never work any of his school's games again (coaches submit a strike list to the state and association each year, listing up to ten umpires they refuse to let work games on their field), and how he will personally try to get me de-certified as an umpire.

Well, now I know I have to write up an incident report, but I'm trying to get him to let me go, so things don't get worse, but they do.

For the coach.

From the stands, where some of the home fans were cheering on the coach's anger, comes a stern voice of authority, ordering the coach by name to take his hands off me.

It was the Cy Fair District Superintendent, who has the power to suspend and/or fire coaches.

The man apologizes to me for the coach's behavior, tells me to include his name in my write-up of the incident, specifically tells me to state that the coach grabbed me without provocation and that the district superintendent witnessed the "assault" (his word).

He then told the coach, who had gone quite pale, "be in my office tomorrow morning at 9". This was on Friday night, by the way, so this was not a normal time for a conference.

I went to the dressing room, changed and drove home without incident. My partner was there for the whole thing and could not stop laughing.

The coach kept his job, for some reason I was not put on his strike list, and I had few complaints about my strike zone the rest of the season.

Oldbear83 said:

---

Not my mistake, but a memorable one I recall.

1996, I'm working the plate as umpire when the Lobos visited Golden Eagles in district play. The Golden Eagles coach does not like my strike zone, seems to think I should not watch the corners when his guys are batting, and should have a county-wide zone when his pitcher is on the mound.

He really does not like it, when the Lobos get to his pitcher and take the lead with a 2-run frame in the 7th inning. The Golden Eagles are unable to come back and they lose to the Lobos.

As I am walking off the field, the Golden Eagles coach runs up from behind me, yelling about my strike zone. Not wanting to eject a coach after the game is over (partly because an ejection means I have to write up a report for the school district), I wave him off and remind him the game is over.

Coach steps in front me and grabs my shirt. He then goes on a tear telling me how I will never work any of his school's games again (coaches submit a strike list to the state and association each year, listing up to ten umpires they refuse to let work games on their field), and how he will personally try to get me de-certified as an umpire.

Well, now I know I have to write up an incident report, but I'm trying to get him to let me go, so things don't get worse, but they do.
For the coach.

From the stands, where some of the home fans were cheering on the coach's anger, comes a stern voice of authority, ordering the coach by name to take his hands off me.
It was the Cy Fair District Superintendent, who has the power to suspend and/or fire coaches.

The man apologizes to me for the coach's behavior, tells me to include his name in my write-up of the incident, specifically tells me to state that the coach garbed me without provocation and that the district superintendent witnessed the "assault" (his word).

He then told the coach, who had gone quite pale, "be in my office tomorrow morning at 9". This was on Friday night, by the way, so this was not a normal time for a conference.

I went to the dressing room, changed and drove home without incident. My partner was there for the whole thing and could not stop laughing.

The coach kept his job, for some reason I was not put on his strike list, and I had few complaints about my strike zone the rest of the season.

---

and he's out!

My first year to umpire and first time to do a game in upper teenage league. It's a two man crew and I'm in the field. There's a man on third with first and second empty. I'm setup between the mound and second so I can call the bases. I thought about every possible scenario, except a snap throw from the catcher to third. On that play I was a casual spectator and probably the only one at the field who didn't know if he was out or safe. I felt pretty foolish after that one.

LIB,MR BEARS said:

---

My first year to umpire and first time to do a game in upper teenage league. It's a two man crew and I'm in the field. There's a man on third with first and second empty. I'm setup between the mound and second so I can call the bases. I thought about every possible scenario, except a snap throw from the catcher to third. On that play I was a casual spectator and probably the only one at the field who didn't know if he was out or safe. I felt pretty foolish after that one.

---

That's why we always taught the rookies to think through what could happen, starting with a play at home plate, then 3rd, 2nd, then 1st, because screwing up a call at 1st - while bad - is much less embarrassing than blowing a call at home.

I once saw a rookie umpire get into position to watch a slide into home after a sac fly. He watched the catcher sweep his glove across the hands of the runner as he slid into the plate, and called him out with great energy ... about two seconds before he noticed the ball had fallen out of the catcher's glove and was rolling away about a foot behind the plate.

It was a learning experience, but that umpire heard about it from a lot of people for the next year or so.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sfgate.com/sports/amp/252-MILLION-MAN-Rodriguez-signs-with-Rangers-3238243.php

I was playing third base in a fast pitch softball league in Dallas when I was 40. Batter hit a screaming line drive to my right in fair territory. Rather than try to put a glove on it, I tried to knock it down bare handed. The spinning seams on the ball tore into the flesh of my right index finder and tore a gash in the skin. I finished the game, but I decided to retire from ball afterwards.

jumpinjoe said:

---

I was playing third base in a fast pitch softball league in Dallas when I was 40. Batter hit a screaming line drive to my right in fair territory. Rather than try to put a glove on it, I tried to knock it down bare handed. The spinning seams on the ball tore into the flesh of my right index finder and tore a gash in the skin. I finished the game, but I decided to retire from ball afterwards.

---

ouch!

My buddy Gene was fielding a ball at 3rd base (he was a AAA ball player for the Padres so he was pretty good). It came screaming down the line directly at him as he drops to the knee to dig it out of the dirt. Unbeknownst to him, there is a small rock driven hard into the dirt just in front of him. Instead of hitting the dirt and going right into his glove, the ball hits the rock and goes nearly straight up into his jaw, knocking him out cold.

DubDub said:

---

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sfgate.com/sports/amp/252-MILLION-MAN-Rodriguez-signs-with-Rangers-3238243.php

---

This would certainly qualify as a really dumb one.