The biggest baserunning blunders in history

Baseball involves a series of split-second decisions, and so baserunners have a lot to keep track of on every ball in play. It’s no easy task, but sometimes a player makes a mistake that’s so boneheaded, so puzzling, so “what-the-heck-was-he-thinking” that it lives on well past the game’s final out.

Just about all of the players below enjoyed successful Major League careers, but we can’t help but reflect on their biggest gaffes. Here are the most memorable baserunning blunders in baseball history.

Braves run into 'Superman' double play
Braves at Dodgers, 2020 NLCS Game 7

The Braves were in a good spot, leading the Dodgers in the fourth inning, 3-2. Atlanta was set up for more, too, with runners at second and third and nobody out. Then one of the strangest double plays in postseason history was set into motion when Nick Markakis hit a sharp ground ball to Justin Turner at third. Turner got the runner at third base, Dansby Swanson, in a rundown, eventually being the player to tag him out with a full-extension "Superman" dive in foul territory. But as he did so, Austin Riley broke for third, so Turner spun around and, from a knee, threw to shortstop Corey Seager covering for the tag. The play was huge, as Los Angeles would come from behind to win, 4-3, and clinch the NL pennant.

Justin Bour doesn't know when to quit
Angels at Cubs, April 13, 2019

Bour learned a baseball lesson the hard way at Wrigley Field: always wait for the ump to call you out. The Angels slugger came up on the embarrassing end of a strange sequence after lining a base hit down the right-field line. Bour took a wide turn around first base but had to slam on the brakes when right fielder Ben Zobrist got to the ball quickly, and he went tumbling back into first as Zobrist threw behind him. The throw caromed off Bour's foot and into foul territory, and Bour decided to get up and try for second. Catcher Willson Contreras chased down the ball and fired a strike to second base, where tagger extraordinaire Javier Baez slapped one down on the sliding Bour. And that's when things really got weird. Bour thought he was out. So he got up from the bag and started walking back toward the Angels dugout. He didn't realize the umpire had called him safe. Neither did Baez, for a second. But then he did. And he chased Bour down halfway between first and second and tagged him again. Inning over.

Adolis Garcia’s tumble
Brewers at Cardinals, Sept. 26, 2018

The Brewers were up 2-1 in the eighth inning when Josh Hader walked Matt Carpenter after getting two quick outs. The Brewers took Hader out in favor of Jeremy Jeffress in a double switch. The Cardinals also made a move, replacing Carpenter on the basepaths with Adolis Garcia -- who had a near-elite sprint speed in a small sample. Jeffress induced a ground ball from the first batter he faced, Jose Martinez, with Garcia on first base. The throw to first resulted in a throwing error, so Garcia kept running. After he rounded third, he tripped and fell down, slowing him down -- and he was easily tagged out at home, standing up, after the blunder. The Brewers headed to the ninth with that 2-1 lead and held on in the bottom of the ninth, too, to clinch a postseason berth.

Werth tagged out at home in decisive Game 5
Dodgers at Nationals, Oct. 13, 2016

In a winner-take-all National League Championship Series Game 5, the Nationals led the Dodgers 1-0 and seemed to be in a position to tack on more when Jayson Werth walked and Ryan Zimmerman doubled in the bottom of the sixth. But Dodgers left fielder Andrew Toles made a quick play, and Nationals third base coach Bob Henley sent Werth anyway. Werth was tagged out at home standing up, and the Nationals retained a slim 1-0 lead. Ace Max Scherzer allowed a solo home run to Joc Pederson to lead off the seventh and tie the game, and the Dodgers emerged from the top of the seventh with a 4-1 lead. The Nationals scored two more on a Chris Heisey home run, but never tied the score and lost the decisive game 4-3.

Kolten Wong’s World Series game-ending pickoff
Cardinals at Red Sox, Oct. 27, 2013 (WS Game 4)

The Cardinals entered Game 4 with a two games to one World Series lead, playing the second of three home games in St. Louis. They scored first, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third, but by the ninth inning, they trailed 4-2. With one out in the bottom of the ninth against Koji Uehara, Allen Craig laced a single to right field. 23-year-old Kolten Wong was put in to pinch-run for Craig. The next batter popped out, then Carlos Beltran came up with Wong still on first and two out. After working to a 1-1 count to Beltran, Uehara caught Wong off the bag for the third out of the inning, and final out of the game. The Red Sox evened the series at two games apiece and went on to win the series in six games. The Cardinals did not win another game in that World Series.

Kent & Drew out at home on same play
Dodgers at Mets, Oct. 4, 2006 (NLDS Game 1)

The Dodgers had an early rally going against the Mets in Game 1 of the NLDS, with Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew starting the third inning off with singles off John Maine. Russell Martin came up with the two aboard and none out and hit a single to right field. Shawn Green fielded it and threw to home -- where Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca was greeted by both baserunners, one after another, both of whom he tagged out. The Dodgers did go on to score that inning, with Marlon Anderson knocking Martin in with a double to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead, but the Mets came back from the early deficit to win the game 6-5. They’d go on to sweep the series.

A-Rod’s glove slap
Yankees vs. Red Sox, Oct. 19, 2004 (ALCS Game 6)

There were so many memorable moments from Boston’s epic comeback from a 3-0 deficit in ‘04, but nothing epitomized the Yankees’ frustration more than Alex Rodriguez’s bizarre run down the first-base line in Game 6. Rodriguez hit a slow roller in the bottom of the eighth that Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo corralled before turning to apply a standard tag on the slugger. But Rodriguez reacted with a slap of Arroyo’s glove, jarring the ball loose and enabling Derek Jeter to score from first base while Rodriguez advanced to second. The umpires ruled interference on Rodriguez and forced Jeter back to second, and Boston won the game to force Game 7.

Ruben Rivera’s wild run
Giants vs. D-backs, May 27, 2003

Where do you even begin with this one? This play is as famous for legendary broadcaster Jon Miller’s summation (“That was the worst baserunning in the history of the game!”) as it was for Rivera’s numerous blunders. Rivera was leading off first when Marquis Grissom lofted a fly ball to deep right-center field, which ultimately got past leaping Arizona outfielder David Dellucci. But Rivera thought Dellucci had caught the ball and went to tag back to first … then turned back around toward third again … and missed second base altogether.

Rivera was able to double back and touch second before turning back for third, where he certainly would have been thrown out … if D-backs third baseman Alex Cintron didn’t boot the relay throw. You would figure Rivera would have stopped there, satisfied with his tremendous fortune to be safe, but on he continued toward home, where was thrown out by a mile -- leading to Miller’s famous call.

Giambi out on “The Flip”
Athletics vs. Yankees, Oct. 13, 2001 (ALDS Game 3)

Should Jeremy Giambi have slid? The question still haunts many A’s fans who saw their club victimized by Derek Jeter’s most famous defensive highlight. It was the bottom of the seventh when A’s outfielder Terrence Long smacked a Mike Mussina pitch down the right-field line, where Yankees outfielder Shane Spencer fielded the ball but overthrew both cutoff men. A defensive mistake turned into a miracle when Jeter, appearing from nowhere, scooped the ball near the first-base line and shoveled it to catcher Jorge Posada. Giambi, perhaps not expecting a close play, did not slide -- though he might have been safe at home if he had -- and Posada tagged him to end the inning. The Yankees eked out a 1-0 win in this game and went on to climb out of a 2-0 series hole and punch their ticket to the ALCS -- making this moment a no-doubt momentum shifter.

Lonnie Smith holds up at third
Braves at Twins, Oct. 27, 1991 (World Series Game 7)

Runs were at a premium during this all-time classic pitchers' duel between Atlanta’s John Smoltz and Minnesota’s Jack Morris, making Smith’s decision even more dramatic in the moment. The Braves’ Terry Pendleton laced a ball to left-center field in the top of the eighth that appeared to be deep enough to bring Smith home from first base and break a scoreless tie. However, Smith lost track of the ball and was faked out by Minnesota middle infielders Chuck Knoblauch and Greg Gagne, who feigned turning a double play. Smith momentarily stopped running to locate the ball and was unable to score, and the Twins ultimately won the Series clincher, 1-0, in 10 innings.

Ruth’s caught stealing ends the season
Yankees vs. Cardinals, Oct. 10, 1926 (World Series Game 7)

Ruth and the Yankees dominated the 1920’s, but the ‘26 Fall Classic represented the one that got away from the pinstripes -- and it ended in peculiar fashion. New York had clawed its way back from a 3-0 deficit and was down by just a run when Ruth drew a full-count walk off Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Bob Meusel came up to the plate with Lou Gehrig on deck --setting up an ideal rally scenario for the Yanks -- but Ruth immediately broke for second with a steal attempt and was thrown out by a wide margin. Ballgame over, World Series over after the Bambino -- of all people -- was gunned down on the bases.

Merkle’s head-scratcher
Giants vs. Cubs, Sept. 23, 1908

How close was the 1908 pennant race between New York and Chicago? It may have come down to one costly baserunning mistake by Giants first baseman Fred Merkle. The 19-year-old rookie was making his first Major League start in a game between two powerhouses tied atop the National League standings, and they were knotted up at one in the bottom of the ninth when Merkle hit a two-out single that put two runners on for New York.

What came next would unfortunately define Merkle’s career. Giants shortstop Al Bridwell jumped on the first pitch for what appeared to be a game-winning single, but Merkle, seeing fans swarm onto the field in celebration, turned back to the dugout without touching second base. That violated MLB’s official rule 4.09, which stipulates that a run does not count if any other runner on the bases makes the third out by being forced out. Cubs second baseman Johnny Evers alerted the umpires of Merkle’s mistake and the rookie was ruled out. When the umpires couldn’t clear the field, they called the game on account of darkness and the game had to be replayed on Oct. 8 -- which happened to be a pennant tie-breaker between the Giants and Cubs. Chicago prevailed, 4-2, and went on to win its last World Series for more than 100 years.