Failure™ Magazine

Quirkiest Baseball Failures I

Part one of Failure’s two-part series.

Written by Failure magazine staff   Filed under Sports

August 15, 2003: On Kahn’s Baseball Card Night at Great American Ball Park, the Cincinnati Reds give away a limited-edition set of Reds baseball cards to all fans in attendance. The set includes fired manager Bob Boone, fired coaches Tom Robson and Tim Foli, as well as five traded players.

May 26, 1993: Texas Rangers outfielder Jose Canseco misjudges a deep fly ball, allowing it to hit him on the head and bounce over the outfield wall, counting as a home run for the Cleveland Indians. The Rangers lose the game to the Indians by one run. Three days later Canseco tears ligaments in his elbow while pitching during a blowout loss to the Boston Red Sox.

September 23, 2007: San Diego Padres left fielder Milton Bradley suffers a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee when he is spun to the ground by his manager, Bud Black, during an argument with an umpire.

May 20, 2008: The Calgary Vipers of the Golden Baseball League trade right-handed pitcher John Odom, 26, to the Laredo (Texas) Broncos of the United League for 10 baseball bats—more specifically, “10 Prairie Sticks Maple Bats, double-dipped black, 34-inch, C243 style”—valued at $69 each. “They just wanted some bats, good bats—maple bats,” Broncos general manager Jose Melendez says when asked about the unusual trade. Odom dies six months later, his death attributed to an accidental overdose of heroin, methamphetamine and alcohol.

April 14, 2002: After toiling in the minor leagues for eight years, Seattle Mariners designated hitter Ron Wright makes his major league debut against the Texas Rangers. In three plate appearances, Wright strikes out, grounds into a double play and hits into a triple play. The Mariners ship him back to the minors the following day and he never returns to the majors.

June 4, 1974: The Cleveland Indians hold Ten-Cent Beer Night, and allow fans to purchase up to six cups of beer at a time, which perhaps explains: the heavyset woman who ventures to the Indians’ on-deck circle during the second inning and bares her breasts; the nude male who runs onto the field in the fourth and slides into second base; and the two fans who moon the opposition’s outfielders during the fifth inning. Ultimately, a riot ensues that threatens the safety of the players, and with the game tied 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth, umpire Nestor Chylak forces the Indians to forfeit to the Texas Rangers on account of the increasingly drunken and unruly crowd.

See also: Quirkiest Baseball Failures - part two.

Page 2 of 2 pages < 1 2