At first I thought... hey how about starting a thread where people could tell stupid things they have done.
But then I realized I might be the only one posting...
Oh well, here goes:
I was a freshman in high school in 1977, and I was playing softball for my church team. I played right field. Yea, that's right, I was the guy who could hit a bit, but they had to hide me on the field defensively. I played first base one year (because I'm 6'4) , but too many low throws would get by me, so I ended up in right.
Anyway, there were runners on first and second with one out, and I was out there in right field trying to act like I was good at the position; you know, pounding the glove, looking like I was ready for a play (which I probably wasn't).
The cleanup hitter (a lefty) absolutely clobbered a ball to right. I just turned around and started running, hoping maybe
I'd catch up to it a couple neighborhoods over.
After running for what seemed like five minutes, I looked up, and sure enough, I was lucky enough to have run the same route the ball was taking. I reached out and fully extended both arms, and *plop* the ball fell right into my hands.
I was so jubilant that I'd actually caught the ball that I lifted it over my head like the Statue Of Liberty and exaggerated my slowing down to relish the moment. I thought of myself doing a Dwight Evans highlight reel catch and the crowd going crazy.
As I came back to earth, I began to hear the faint cries of teammates saying something like "throw the ball!" I turned around to see that both runners had tagged up after the throw and were busily circling the bases while I was having my moment of glory!
The runner who was on second was already touching home plate, and the other runner was just rounding third. I did my best Dwight Evans imitation throw; trying to get that 16-inch softball all the way to the catcher on the fly. But I was so deep in right after making the catch, that by the time the second baseman caught it, the runner had already scored!
My face was beet red until the next batter grounded out to the pitcher and I finally got to leave my post in right field.
When I got to the dugout, the coach slapped me on the back and said, "great catch- but next time, don't forget how many outs there are and that there are runners on base!"
My friends congratulated me on the catch and overlooked my bone-headed mistake, but it came up a few times as a joke later on. That's the good thing about playing on a church team; they weren't so concerned about winning as much as just having a good time.
But then I realized I might be the only one posting...
Oh well, here goes:
I was a freshman in high school in 1977, and I was playing softball for my church team. I played right field. Yea, that's right, I was the guy who could hit a bit, but they had to hide me on the field defensively. I played first base one year (because I'm 6'4) , but too many low throws would get by me, so I ended up in right.
Anyway, there were runners on first and second with one out, and I was out there in right field trying to act like I was good at the position; you know, pounding the glove, looking like I was ready for a play (which I probably wasn't).
The cleanup hitter (a lefty) absolutely clobbered a ball to right. I just turned around and started running, hoping maybe
I'd catch up to it a couple neighborhoods over.
After running for what seemed like five minutes, I looked up, and sure enough, I was lucky enough to have run the same route the ball was taking. I reached out and fully extended both arms, and *plop* the ball fell right into my hands.
I was so jubilant that I'd actually caught the ball that I lifted it over my head like the Statue Of Liberty and exaggerated my slowing down to relish the moment. I thought of myself doing a Dwight Evans highlight reel catch and the crowd going crazy.
As I came back to earth, I began to hear the faint cries of teammates saying something like "throw the ball!" I turned around to see that both runners had tagged up after the throw and were busily circling the bases while I was having my moment of glory!
The runner who was on second was already touching home plate, and the other runner was just rounding third. I did my best Dwight Evans imitation throw; trying to get that 16-inch softball all the way to the catcher on the fly. But I was so deep in right after making the catch, that by the time the second baseman caught it, the runner had already scored!
My face was beet red until the next batter grounded out to the pitcher and I finally got to leave my post in right field.
When I got to the dugout, the coach slapped me on the back and said, "great catch- but next time, don't forget how many outs there are and that there are runners on base!"
My friends congratulated me on the catch and overlooked my bone-headed mistake, but it came up a few times as a joke later on. That's the good thing about playing on a church team; they weren't so concerned about winning as much as just having a good time.
