Welcome to our incredibly innovative feature, The Enumerative. Because lists are awesome, plus effective time killers, in this space we'll provide a top five based loosely on something that has recently occurred in the sporting world.
The Enumerative: Playoff Baserunning Gaffes
Vlad Guerrero’s little adventure last night trying to go first to third in the eighth inning was ugly, no doubt. How much more out could he have been, you ask? The answer is none. None more out.
Nevertheless, bad as it was, it wasn’t quite bad enough to crack this elite list, The Top Five Baserunning Gaffes in Postseason History.
5. Timo Perez Thinks Todd Zeile Went Yard -- Game 1, ‘00 World Series
I remember this vividly, because I had a bet going with a Mets’ manaic that Timo Perez wouldn’t score a run in the game (you just have to remember that Timo was an out-of-nowhere phenom at that point and he was scoring runs pretty much every game). Timo was on first in the top of the sixth of a scoreless game when Todd Zeile yanked one to right that certainly looked like it was gone. My Mets buddy started going ape, and I confess that I thought I was sunk. But the ball didn’t clear the fence. Instead, it popped up off the top ridge right into David Justice’s hands, who whipped around a bullet relay to Jeter, who sent it home to Posada to nail Perez at the plate. Replays showed that Timo hadn’t been running hard around the bases, taking his time instead to celebrate what he thought was a dinger. Yanks went on to win it 4-3 in 12 en route to five-game ass-slapping of their brethren from Queens.
4. Knoblauch Dekes Lonnie Smith -- Game 7, '91 World Series
Oh Lonnie, Lonnie, Lonnie. You were a 1980 Phillie, and therefore you are a god to me, but you did have your problems. Braves fans will never forgive Smith for slowing down as he rounded second in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 1991 Series. It was a scoreless game, John Smoltz and Jack Morris trading bagels in one of the greatest pitching duels the World Series has ever known. Smith singled in the eighth, and then on a hit and run he took off (and man could he run) as Terry Pendleton stroked a double in the gap. But Twins’ second baseman Chuck Knoblauch faked as if he had the ball and was turning a double play, a true Little League maneuver (very, very Knoblauch), and Lonnie took the bait, hesitating and then stumbling. Because of his mistake, he had to stop at third, where he was eventually stranded. Twins won it in 10, and Jack Morris entered the annals of World Series superheroes, while Smith found a place among the all-time World Series goats.
3. Lou Brock Doesn’t Slide -- Game 5, 1968 World Series
It lives on in Series mythology as the moment that turned the tide in ‘68. Up three games to one over the Tigers, the Cardinals had a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth and appeared poised to score more when speedster Lou Brock led off with a double and then Julian Javier followed with a single to right. But Tigers right-fielder Willie Horton threw a laser to catcher Bill Freehan, who blocked the plate, and for some reason Brock neglected to slide. If he had, most observers felt he would have been safe. Standing up, however, he was clearly out, and the momentum shift proved enormous for the Tigers. They came back to win the game 5-3, and then went on to win the Series in seven.
2. And Speaking of Not Sliding ... Jeremy Giambi, Anyone? – Game 3, ‘01 ALDS
Whenever the debate begins about whether or not Derek Jeter is a Hall-of-Famer, you can be guaranteed that some mook from the Bronx will bring up his “intangibles,” and that exhibit A in the defense of said intangibles will be this play from the 2001 ALDS against the A’s when Jeter’s improvised backflip nabbed Jeremy Giambi at the plate. It’s become one of the most repeated highlight-reel plays of our time, and every time I see it, I think the same thing: Why didn’t Giambi slide? Why wasn’t a teammate there telling him to slide? If he slides, it’s not even close. Heads-up play by Jeter? Of course. But more than anything, it’s a ridiculous mistake by Giambi.
1. Babe Ruth, Good at Hitting, Less Good at Stealing -- Game 7, '26 World Series
This is one of those cosmic head-scratchers that is all too rarely mentioned when discussing the legend of Ruth. Yanks are down 3-2 to the Cardinals in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7 of the ’26 Series when the Babe draws a two-out walk from Grover Cleveland Alexander. Bob Meusel comes to the plate, Alexander serves him his first pitch, and inexplicably Ruth breaks for second. Cards’ catcher Bob O’Farrell throws down to second baseman Rogers Hornsby and Ruth is as out as out can be. Series over. I mean, you could forgive maybe Ty Cobb for stealing in that situation, or Maury Wills, or Usain Bolt ... but Mr. I Eat Nine Hot Dogs Before Breakfast Babe Ruth? It remains today the only time that a World Series has ended on a runner caught stealing.
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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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