There’s not much happening besides baseball right now, but that’s okay. It’s a great sport because every single pitch is an opportunity to see a new, weird thing.
We got to discussing this article, and then to enumerating the seemingly unlimited number of very specific, thrilling plays that can happen on a baseball field. Then we rated them and tallied up the scores.
1. Killing a bird mid-air with a pitch
T2. Rocket throw-out from the outfield
T2. Adrian Beltre moving the on-deck circle
T4. Home-run robbery
T4. Inside-the-park homer
6. 500-foot home run
7. 500-foot home run off a knuckle-ball that doesn’t knuckle
8. Catcher getting bowled over but still holding onto the ball
T9. Triple play
T9. Straight steal of home
11. Grabbing Don Zimmer by his big fat head and gently placing him on the ground
12. Suicide squeeze
13. Unassisted triple play
14. Position player strikes someone out
15. Runner avoids a tag at the plate
T16. Diving into the stands for a catch
T16. Knocking over the catcher to score
18. Eephus pitch
19. Catcher picks off a runner at first
20. Pitcher catches a fast liner
21. A long-ass throw from third to first
22. Game-ending wild pitch
T23. Home run off the foul pole
T23. Base hit off a pitch in the dirt
T23. Shortstop makes the long throw to first with his momentum in the opposite direction (“The Jeter”)
T26. Called third strike on a knee-buckling curve
T26. A pitcher throws his whole glove over to first
T26. Double steal
29. Vulture steal of home
30. Screaming line-drive catch by an infielder
31. Any bat flip
32. 100 mph fastball strikeout
33. Infielder barehands a ball
T34. Bunt single
T34. Called third strike on a backdoor slider
36. Outfielder’s shoestring catch of a sinking liner
37. Infielder’s over-the-shoulder basket catch
38. Reaching base on a dropped third strike
39. Pitcher home run
40. Walk-off bases-loaded walk
41. Several quality innings of relief
42. Being the bird killed mid-air with a pitch
43. Balk
