Major Leaguers are barely humans. They are demigods, standing 6-foot-something, gifted with exceptional speed, strength and the kind of hand-eye coordination that us clumsy folks can barely fathom. But every now and then, these skillful athletes have a momentary lapse where they join us. It's a moment that unites us all, player and fan, athlete and person whose daily step average is "possibly deceased." These are called bloopers, and they are amazing.
With all that said, let's rank the top 10 bloopers from the 2024 season.
10. The Bee Guy saves the day
They say there are four types of conflict: Human vs. Society, Human vs. Self, Human vs. Human and -- perhaps most difficult of all -- Human vs. Nature. On this day, when the Dodgers and D-backs were attempting to play a ballgame together, it appeared that all of mankind's skill and intelligence were for naught: The bees were going to win.
After the game had been delayed for thirty minutes, though, a hero emerged: Matt Hilton, a pest control expert in Arizona, who had been preparing to watch his son play a tee-ball game. Like a Western hero, he arrived to save the day, beekeeper's suit in tow, helping ensure that the outcome of the 1979 low-budget horror film "The Bees" wouldn't come to pass.
9. Throwing Practice
Anyone who has ever played any level of organized baseball has heard their coach yell from the dugout, "Hold it! Hold it! For the love of all that's decent and holy in this world, just hold onto the baseball!"
Chances are that's what Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was probably saying to his team during New York's 9-5 loss to the Orioles on Aug. 20. O's shortstop Gunnar Henderson lifted a shallow fly ball to left field that was missed by a diving Brandon Nimmo, who had to chase after the ball and hurl it toward the plate. His throw got away, but it was fielded by pitcher Danny Young. While Young was wisely backing up the play, he then tried to get the runner going for third and uncorked a toss that sailed into left field. Nimmo threw it back home, but it wasn't in time to get the runner. Catcher Francisco Alvarez scooped up the toss and threw it back to third base, where it also wasn't in time to get the advancing runner.
The lesson: Sometimes it's better to do nothing than something. Which is what I say whenever I forget to do the dishes at the end of the night.
8. Schanuel's feet failed him
Before the 2024 season, Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel adopted a pretty unique training method: Upset at how fatigued he got late in games, Schanuel spent the winter standing all day long. As evidenced by this trip around the basepaths against the Cubs, when Schanuel slipped on two different plays, preventing him from scoring on what would have otherwise been an RBI single by teammate Taylor Ward, he may need to spend this winter working on standing and moving.
As someone who may spend more time tripping, stumbling, and falling over than successfully walking, let me just say: I've been there, too, Nolan.
7. Profar's subterfuge
It is remarkable that this play didn't come in some dog-days-of-summer getaway game in August, but rather in the tightly contested National League Division Series between Southern California rivals. When Mookie Betts blasted a deep drive to left field against the Padres in Game 2 of the NLDS, everybody at Dodger Stadium -- including those fans in left field -- thought the ball was gone. Jurickson Profar sold it so well, a look of disappointment appeared on his face, that Betts even started rounding the bases before, like a magician pulling a rabbit from his hat, Profar revealed the truth: The ball was safely ensconced within his glove.
"But Mike," you're surely saying, "how is robbing a home run a blooper?"
The blooper isn't on Profar, though: The blooper is Betts', who had to go from a celebratory yawp around the bases to a much more demure, much more mindful simple shoulder shrug after learning it was merely a flyout.
6. Smith's leap
Vertical jumps are usually something that matter a little more in basketball and maybe even football. But the Rangers' Josh Smith revealed that having some decent ups can come in handy on the baseball field, too. After the Yankees' DJ LeMahieu struggled to corral Smith's high chopper, reliever Tommy Kahnle tried to make the scoop. Instead of going around or through the reliever, he opted to go with a Super Mario-esque jump over Kahnle to beat out the infield single.
5. The Yankees' fateful fifth inning
The Yankees were a top-10 defensive team during the regular season, but all of that skill and training went missing in one wild inning when things mattered most. Leading the Dodgers, 5-0, in what would prove to be the deciding game of the World Series, the baseball seemed to have become imbued with Robin Williams' "Flubber." Aaron Judge whiffed on a catch, committing his first error of the 2024 season. Shortstop Anthony Volpe then spiked an ill-advised throw to the third baseman before Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rizzo had some miscommunication on a slow roller down to first base.
To add insult to injury, one lucky fan was even able to purchase Judge's flubbed effort for the tidy sum of $43,518. It might be the most expensive blooper in history.
4. Baty takes out an umpire
Ballplayers and umpires often have a contentious relationship, with each side rarely seeing eye to eye. Mets third baseman Brett Baty seemed to take this age-old battle a little too far when he ended up taking down one of the boys in blue as he tried to corral a ground ball down the line. This looks more than a little like Tommy Lasorda vs. The Phillie Phanatic except that it counted in the box score.
3. The rare ump-assisted putout
We just showed an umpire getting absolutely bodied, so how about one where the ump puts his body on the line ... and ends up creating an incredible defensive highlight? On July 19, the Giants' Brett Wisely started a Rube Goldberg machine when he smashed a grounder down the first-base line. It hit the bag and bounced up and off of first-base umpire Chris Conroy. Fortunately for the Rockies, first baseman Michael Toglia was right there to grab the ball and slide into first base to record the out. Only Toglia got credit in the scorebook, but Conroy deserves a little love for this one, too.
2. It's Spring Training for bloopers, too
This play has all the makings of a top-tier blooper. We've got Spring Training, where players are just rounding themselves into shape. We've got Minor Leaguers wearing high-numbered, nameless uniforms. And we've got a player rounding the bases as the baseball is literally kicked deeper into the outfield by a gaggle of players who are all powerless to stop the madness from happening.
Decades from now, you may come across this play on social media somewhere and few will remember that Kameron Misner was credited with an inside-the-park home run on the play. Instead, you'll remember the glory and weirdness of players chasing after the ball like a dog playing fetch.
1. Rafaela vs. the Beach Ball
A superb defender at nearly any position with great speed, Ceddanne Rafaela's biggest struggle wasn't sticking in the big league lineup in his first full season: It was trying to get a beach ball out of play. You know how foolish you feel when you trip on something walking down the street? Imagine what it's like trying to get a beach ball out of play while 30,000 people are looking on.
Congratulations, Rafaela: Who knows what other awards you may win in your career, but this is likely the only time you'll top a list of bloopers.