There’s just something about rain delays that brings out the fun side of baseball players. From the Rangers turning the tarp into a slip n’ slide to the D-backs and Cubs bullpens holding a dance-off, big leaguers have seemingly always found a way to make the time pass during a delay.
Last weekend, Missouri S&T infielder Cole Hampton found a rain delay activity that might put all the others to shame.
In the midst of a nearly three-hour rain delay during the Miners’ Great Lakes Valley Conference matchup against Southern Indiana on April 30, Hampton decided to show off his world-class center of gravity with a series of seemingly impossible balancing acts. Hampton, clad in camouflage crocs and a Missouri S&T warm-up shirt, started his impromptu show by balancing a baseball bat on his nose, an impressive feat that would cause most people to end up with a black eye and a bruised ego. For Hampton, it was just the start.
From there, the junior infielder balanced both a hat and batting helmet by their brims on his nose before flipping the batting helmet on to his head. After boring himself with baseball equipment, he moved onto balancing a folding chair (in both its folded and unfolded setting) as well as a hand sanitizer dispenser. He completed the display of athleticism by somehow balancing a 20-foot pole on his chin, a feat that drew a raucous applause from both dugouts.
While Hampton is hitting .267 with one home run and eight RBIs on the season, he’s batting 1.000 when it comes to balancing objects on his nose. We'll let you decide which stat is more impressive.