Last Updated: October 15th, 2026 by Matthew Brown
There are so many memorable moments in baseball history. Most of them are good, some of them are bad, and a select few are downright awful. That's what we're here for in this article.
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We're highlighting the plays that were so bad that fans couldn't look away.
In fact, these are plays that got seared into their memories for better or worse.
10. Merkle’s Boner: Running Off Before Touching Second
It's usually a good thing to call someone a pioneer of something. Unfortunately, I'm going to use the term in a negative way here. Fred Merkle is probably baseball's pioneer of boneheaded plays.
It basically created the term "goat," and not in the way kids know it today. Merkle had to live with it the rest of his career, and all it took to prevent it was stepping on a bag.
9. Larry Walker Hands a Ball to a Fan—With One Out Left
Larry Walker is now a Hall of Famer, so it's funny to look back at this. Being one of the premier right fielders of his time, Larry Walker could do it all. I think everyone remembers his bat, but fewer fans remember how good a defensive player he was, with a cannon for an arm.
None of that mattered when he caught a ball toward the wall in foul ground and handed a fan the ball, thinking it was the third out. It was not, in fact, the third out.
8. David Cone Argues… While the Runners Keep Running
This one is less boneheaded and more hotheaded. David Cone is one of the better pitchers of his generation and also one of the most competitive. That brings us to a time when he was covering first base to record an out, and the umpire called the batter safe.
Cone blew a gasket and started arguing the call while the ball was still in play. A run scored and the rest is in the history of plays like this.
7. Blauch Head: Chuck Knoblauch Argues While Runners Keep Running
The mental part of sports can be tough to withstand. Chuck Knoblauch has had to battle that in his career. There was a time when he had the "yips" and couldn't throw to first base.
But we're going with a time when he just couldn't help but yell at an umpire mid-play while runners were able to score. This wasn't just a regular season game either. It was the ALCS.
6. Kolten Wong Gets Picked Off to End a World Series Game
Being a baserunner at the end of a close game might be more nerve-racking than being the batter. In that great 2013 World Series, the Cardinals had a rough moment that they had to endure for the rest of the series.
Kolten Wong was on base in the ninth inning of Game 4 with two outs and got picked off to end the game. If he hadn't, who knows what could have happened in favor of St. Louis.
5. John Kruk Forgets the Outs—And Earns Extra Bubble Gum
John Kruk is one of the great characters that baseball has had the pleasure of having. It was maybe a little too much one day, as he completely forgot how many outs there were after catching a fly ball.
His manager had a fun solution and made a counter-system of bubble gum as a "punishment." That's definitely one of the great stories he tells nowadays.
4. The Pirates Forget How Force Outs Work—Javy Báez Runs Wild
This might be the most unfathomably bad play I've ever seen. Yes, the Pirates have been mostly a poor-performing team as of late, but even a play like this seems too terrible for them. Javy Baez hit a short ground ball down the line with two outs and stopped running as the first baseman, Will Craig, was about to tag him.
Then, Baez started running back towards the plate, almost jokingly, and Craig saw the runner come home from third and actually threw home wildly. Catastrophe ensued as more wildness happened, and Baez eventually got to third. All of that could have been avoided if Craig simply stepped on first.
3. Lonnie Smith’s World Series Baserunning Brain Freeze
The World Series is where some of the greatest moments happen. This was not one of them. Lonnie Smith is unfortunately known for this baserunning mishap.
He fell for a fake play by the infielders and hesitated between second and third. If he hadn't, he certainly would have been able to score a history-altering run.
2. Marv Throneberry Misses Both First and Second
We'll chalk this up to the Mets being an expansion team, but it's still an all-time blunder. In their first season, the Mets were understandably bad. So bad that Marv Throneberry was overly excited to have the opportunity to get a triple.
He completely missed first base and second base, making it one of the easiest appeal outs in history.
1. Babe Ruth Gets Thrown Out Stealing to End the World Series
Yes, Babe Ruth stole bases. You may not believe me, but he did. In 1926, he was a little too confident in his abilities at his age as he tried to make something happen in Game 7 of the World Series.
The Yankees had their backs against the wall, so it's a little understandable that he wanted to get into scoring position.
It's just that Ruth was caught stealing almost as much as he got steals. So the percentages didn't line up well, and the Yankees had a rare World Series loss during that time.
