100 Most Memorable Moments Of The Last Decade-100 & 99

Yakety Sax and Perfect Catch

The last decade of Major League Baseball has been fun and exciting. There have been many wonderful accomplishments, and historic records broken. Great athletes have produced amazing feats, that we could only dream of duplicating. However, I thought the perfect way to start this list off was with probably the most embarrassing moment by a group of professionals over the last 10 years. On August 7th, 2012 the Astros were hosting the Nationals. It was just about the most meaningless of meaningless games for Houston, who were in the middle of a 107 loss season. For the Nationals it was a quite a bit more important, they were 3 games up in the division with a little less than 2 months to go. With the game tied in the 11th at 4-4 Washington had Roger Bernadina on first, Kurt Suzuki laid down a simple sac bunt. From there all hell broke loose. 2 Astros infielders ran into each other, with a third hopping over them for his own protection. The ball was finally retrieved by first baseman Steve Pearce, but when trying to throw to first he heaved it deep into the outfield. Right fielder Brian Bogusevic grabbed the ball, with the chance at a bang-bang play at the plate, and threw it 5 feet of catcher Chris Snyder’s head. Roger Bernadina scored the go-ahead run, and the Nationals rolled into the playoffs. For one magical play a group of Major Leaguers made us all feel like we could be out there competing with them.

Number 99 on our list is much more of traditional moment. There are a lot people, I would call them killjoys but that’s just me, who claim that Perfect Games and No-Hitters are just a series of chance that played out in the right order. Those people may be right, but I have watched numerous Perfect Games live and nothing beats the tension of the moment. That game will stand out for every player in the game, and every fan watching in the stands or at home. Mark Buerhle had his special day on July 23rd, 2009. He went 27 up and 27 down against the Rays, and as a matter of fact set a Major League record by retiring 45 consecutive batters over a multi-game span. Gabe Kapler came up to start the 9th, just about the most intense moment possible in a midsummer baseball game. Kapler blasted a pitch Buerhle hung over the plate. Dwyane Wise crashes into Billy Pierce’s picture in left center, leaps over the wall, and robs Kapler of a home run. In one great play he saved the Perfect Game, the No-Hitter, and the shutout.

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RJ
RJ
10 years ago
Jeremy T
10 years ago
Reply to  RJ

You’re doing God’s work

mosc
mosc
10 years ago
Reply to  RJ

yay video! It is good to be a baseball fan in this era.

Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
10 years ago

Wow… if that Wise catch is #99, we’re in for one heck of a list!

Bryan O'Connor
Editor
10 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

I was going to say the same thing. Great moment. I’m excited for this list, Neal.

I’d also love to hear more about the numerous perfect games you’ve watched live. Given their rarity, I’d be amazed to learn that anyone was in person for more than one at the major league level. Do you mean “live” as in “in real time”, but not in person?

mosc
mosc
10 years ago

I’m too amped for baseball already and we have 49 more of these posts? My god. I’m going to be foaming at the mouth to watch the dodgers and dbacks get it on down under.

Kershaw pitches right handed in the southern hemisphere fyi, little known fact.

RJ
RJ
10 years ago
Reply to  mosc

Good one mosc, I laughed.

Darien
10 years ago
Reply to  mosc

If he’s exactly on the equator, does he hold the ball in both hands?

Hartvig
Hartvig
10 years ago

Just to echo everyone else’s sentiments- if these 2 are #99 & 100 we are in for a treat.

I was lucky enough to catch most of Buerhle’s game on TV at the time but I had never even heard of the Astros misadventures until they were brought up in the discussions about this series.

That’s one of the best things about watching Class A & Independent League games- every now and then you get to see some really spectacular errors.

oneblankspace
oneblankspace
10 years ago
Reply to  Hartvig

And the Midwest League featues more K, 2-3 than the Bigs.

koma
koma
10 years ago

— “On August 7th, 2012 the Astros were hosting the Nationals”

That´s right, but they won it 3-2 in the 12th.

The game you mean was on August 6th.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU201208060.shtml

mosc
mosc
10 years ago
Reply to  koma

Single to 1B/Bunt (Bunt to P’s Left); Bernadina Scores/unER/Adv on E3 (throw to 1B); Suzuki to 3B/Adv on E9 (throw to Hm)

That’s the longest official scoring I’ve read in a while!

koma
koma
10 years ago
Reply to  mosc

and they scored it only 2 Errors instead of 3, because running into each other doesn´t count

RJ
RJ
10 years ago
Reply to  mosc

Can anyone identify these plays?

Firstly a recent one:

Reached on E5 (throw) (Ground Ball to Weak 3B); Castro Scores/unER/No RBI; Schierholtz Scores/Adv on E3 (throw)/unER/No RBI; Soriano to 3B

And famously:

Reached on E1 (Ground Ball); Gantner Scores/Adv on E1 (throw); Leonard Scores/Adv on E1 (throw)/unER

koma
koma
10 years ago
Reply to  RJ

1. 5th inning in a 2 down Mets comeback HR win over the Cubs

2. 4th inning sparklet of comebck in a 3-16 desaster in the bronx

mosc
mosc
10 years ago

guys, have these things ever happened?: 1) Making 3 outs in an inning. I’m thinking batting 3 times and making 3 outs has never been done but what about batting twice while making two outs and one of em was also a double play? 2) Reaching via error 3 times in the same game. 3) pitcher hitting HR + pitching a CG shutout. I know we listed some of these before but is it possible to get the most recent 10? I’m assuming an AL pitcher has never done this in IL play? AL pitchers hitting HR’s in the IL… Read more »

RJ
RJ
10 years ago
Reply to  mosc

An example of (3) remains pretty fresh in the memory – Clayton Kershaw on Opening Day last year:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN201304010.shtml

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
10 years ago
Reply to  RJ

Another example of (3): Jordan Lyles on 9-30-2012. It’s easy to do, just a lot of searching. From the PI get a list of P who have homered in a game and sort by date. Then scroll down the list of game results and look for shutouts. Then click on the date to view the box score.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
10 years ago

You can shorten the list by also clicking on the team W radio button. Here are the 12 most recent such games, there is no guarantee that I did not miss anyone.

Clayton Kershaw, 4-1-13
Jordan Lyles, 9-30-12
Johan Santana, 7-6-10
Mike Hampton, 5-8-05
Cory Lidle, 8-29-04
Randy Wolf, 4-24-04
Jeff D’Amico, 8-20-03
Jason Jennings, 8-23-01
Chan Ho Park, 9-29-60
Shawn Estes, 5-24-00
Pete Harnisch, 5-22-99
Denny Neagle, 9-2-97

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
10 years ago

Chan Ho Park’s year was 9-29-00, I misread my own handwriting.

mosc
mosc
10 years ago
Reply to  RJ

That one’s just about perfect isn’t it? I had already forgotten. I wonder if it will make the top 100 for the past 10 years? Took me a minute to figure out why Kershaw’s WPA was not 1.00 considering he scored the first run. His teammates ate a little of it by giving him some additional runs support after his homer in the bottom of the eighth inning so he couldn’t get as much WPA on the pitching side for his top of the 9th finishing up.

Mike L
Mike L
10 years ago
Reply to  RJ

You know you are old when you remember a boyhood hero doing it. Mel Stottlemyre, August 3, 1966, 9-0 CG 2 hitter, GS of 88.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CAL/CAL196608030.shtml
Boy, am I old…

James Smyth
10 years ago
Reply to  mosc

The Play Index brought up 27 instances of reaching on an error 3x in a game, last done by Tribe catcher Luke Carlin in 2012. Notable players to do this include Bill Monbouquette (the only pitcher on the list), Al Kaline, Johnny Callison, Joe Girardi, Ray Durham, Sammy Sosa, Carlos Beltran, Rafael Furcal and Brian McCann. http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/GvYwB It has also happened three times in the postseason. Pirates HOF OF Fred Clarke did it in the first World Series in 1903. Danny Murphy of the A’s did it against Christy Mathewson in the 1911 Fall Classic, with the third error providing… Read more »

Luis Gomez
Luis Gomez
10 years ago
Reply to  mosc

If it wasn´t for that “rule” that closers must pitch the ninth inning, Yovani Gallardo would have been on your number 3. He pitched an 8 inning, 2-hit game, won 1-0 and hit a HR.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200904290.shtml

Luis Gomez
Luis Gomez
10 years ago
Reply to  mosc

Not quite number 4, but if you saw this, then you won´t forget it. Poor Tommy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGLuJxvBhE8

koma
koma
10 years ago
Reply to  mosc

how about making 8 outs in 4 AB as a HOFer and 4 times WS winner as a manager?

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN197507210.shtml

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
10 years ago
Reply to  mosc

According to my research, since 1901 no player has come to bat 3 times in an inning and made 3 outs. There have been 17 players with 3 PA in an inning, covering a span of 10 games. 15 of those players can be confirmed via BR play-by-play. Ted Williams came to bat three times in the 7th inning on 7-4-48 but the Charlton Chronology indicates that he got 2 walks. And by googling I found that on 8-25-22 Marty Callaghan came to bat 3 times in the 4th inning but got 2 hits.

koma
koma
10 years ago
Reply to  mosc

Here is a CG SHO, where the pitcher accounts for every run scored with 2 HR.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS197109020.shtml

Doug
Editor
10 years ago
Reply to  koma

The pitcher (Sonny Siebert) had the third highest season BA and second highest season OPS of the 9 Red Sox players in that game, besting Yaz on both counts.

Doug
Editor
10 years ago
Reply to  koma

I like Jim Tobin’s 3-HR game (the only one for a pitcher). His first shot ties the game in the 5th, the second one ties the game again in the 7th, and the 3rd puts the Braves ahead to stay in the 8th. At the conclusion of the game Tobin’s season slash was .407/.484/1.000 with 5 HR in 27 AB.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BSN/BSN194205130.shtml

John Autin
Editor
10 years ago
Reply to  Doug

Ahem: Jim “Abba Dabba” Tobin.

A lovely box score, with Paul “Big Poison” Waner, Lou “The Mad Russian” Novikoff, Bill “Swish” Nicholson, Smiling Stan Hack, Nanny Fernandez, Sibby Sisti, Lennie “Last Living Cub to Play in a World Series” Merullo, and the legendary “Estadio” Hiram Bithorn.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
10 years ago
Reply to  Doug

Most RBI in a game by a pitcher who drove in all of his team’s runs was 6 by Wes Ferrell on 8-12-36. He was the winning pitcher in a 6-4 Red Sox victory over the A’s.

Mike L
Mike L
10 years ago

Honorable mention to Tony Cloninger, July 3, 1966, went the distance in a 17-3 win, two grand slams and nine RBI. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN196607030.shtml (link has been corrected)
Also gave up two home runs, one to the opposing pitcher, Ray Sadeki

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
10 years ago

Pitchers who drove in all of their team’s runs:

5 RBI
none

4 RBI
Burleigh Grimes, 9-9-25,team won 4-3
Ted Blankenship, 4-18-27, team lost 5-4
Ox Miller, 9-7-47, team won 4-3
Tommy Byrne, 8-16-51, team won 4-0
Walt Terrell, 8-6-83, team won 4-1
Tim Lollar, 5-15-84, team lost 6-4
Mark Thurmond, 6-8-86, team won 4-1

Grimes and Thurmond pitched CG.

bstar
bstar
10 years ago
Reply to  mosc

mosc: Early Wynn pitched a one-hit CG shutout and hit a solo HR to win this game here, 1-0.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA195905010.shtml

David Horwich
David Horwich
10 years ago

mosc @ 15 – As you might expect, the records for most errors in a game at the various positions were all set in the 19th century: P: NL 5 AL 4 C: NL 7 AL 4 1B: NL 5 AL 4 2B: NL 9 AL 5 3B: NL 6 AL 4 SS: NL 7 AL 5 OF: NL 5 AL 5 All the NL records are pre-1900. My source (baseball-almanac.com) doesn’t indicate most errors committed while playing more than one position in a game. In any case, it seems quite likely that the record for errors in a game… Read more »

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
10 years ago
Reply to  David Horwich

3B Rich McKinney of the Yankees made 4 errors in a game on 4-22-72

Lawrence Azrin
Lawrence Azrin
10 years ago

Has an MLB player ever made three errors on one play?

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
10 years ago
Reply to  Lawrence Azrin

Tommy John did on 7-27-88.

Doug
Editor
10 years ago

Jeffrey Leonard scored on the play, after hitting a little nubber half-way down the first base line. But, John could laugh about it later as his Yankees won 16-3. Here’s the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGLuJxvBhE8

Not sure three errors would be given by every scorer on that play. But, it is probably the correct call as, even with a good throw to first, the batter would likely have been safe after John double-clutched picking up the ball.

Luis Gomez
Luis Gomez
10 years ago
Reply to  Doug

Apologies for my comment 46. I hit Lawrence´s reply button as soon as I read it and did not saw yours.

Lawrence Azrin
Lawrence Azrin
10 years ago

@41/RC, Thanks for the link. I personally would’ve given John “only” two errors. The comments mention OFer Smead Jolley misplaying a ball hit at him – it bounced through his legs, then he misplayed the carom off the wall, then he made a bad throw. I recall reading about this ages ago, I think it happened in the early 30s at Fenway Park, when they still had the incline called “Duffy’s Cliff” (after LFer Duffy Lewis) in left field. Jolley’s quote after the game was something like “everyone told me how to run UP the hill, but no one told… Read more »

Doug
Editor
10 years ago
Reply to  Lawrence Azrin

Here’s an account of 4 errors made on the same play by Mike Grady, 3rd baseman for the Giants, in an 1899 game at the Polo Grounds. Doesn’t provide more details (date, opponent), so not sure if it’s reliable (but BaseballLibrary.com does have the same account). Baseball-Almanac has records, many from the 19th century, for most errors in an inning, by position, but doesn’t mention this game in the list of 3rd baseman to commit 4 errors in a single frame (Bob Brenly did that most recently, on 9-14-86). Looking through games with players making 3 or more errors in… Read more »

Doug
Editor
10 years ago
Reply to  Doug

If it’s true that Grady’s 4 errors came in a game the same day he assisted in rescuing people trapped in a fire, then the Charlton Chronology places the date not in 1899, but on Apr 26, 1900. But, it’s just as likely that they are two separate events that, over time, got mistakenly merged into one. SABR says it’s all a myth. Since 1910, numerous sources have described Mike Grady’s record-setting four, five or six errors during a play he butchered at third base, supposedly in 1895, 1899, or at Chicago’s West Side Park. In one version of the… Read more »

Luis Gomez
Luis Gomez
10 years ago
Reply to  Lawrence Azrin

Watch the link in comment 21 above.

JasonZ
10 years ago

It is all I can do to not post a link to the first pitch from game 4 of the 2000 World Series.

JasonZ
10 years ago

MOSC@15-

I don’t know where it will rank, but on 6/23/71 Rick Wise fits neatly into #3 of your comment.

A no-hitter against the infant Big Red Machine already peopled with Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and George Foster amongst others.

In the 4-0 win Wise faced 27 batters. Walked one.

Naturally it was Dave Concepcio , already in season ending form with at BA if .206.

Almost forgot, Wise hit 2 homers and knocked in three in the 4-0 win.

Postseason aside, I might just take this day if I could live out one day by any player.