Two Padres Collide In Outfield (6/2/2021)
Take two guys who haven't played together long, throw in a windy ballpark and a possible language barrier, stir for a few seconds and BOOM! You get the hard collision between Padres SS Ha-Seong Kim and LF Tommy Pham at Wrigley Field in June 2021.
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It happened when San Diego SP Dinelson Lamet—in a jam with the bags full and one out—induced a short pop-fly to left off the bat of Cubs rookie C P.J. Higgins. Pham and Kim both attacked the ball, ramming into one another and ending up on the ground for several moments.
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Lucky for Lamet and co., Kim had the presence of mind to fire the dropped ball back to the infield, where teammates Manny Machado and Jake Cronenworth turned a double play on the confused Cubs runners. So it went for Higgins, who went 1-for-23 for Chicago in 2021.
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Notes: To this day, it is still unclear to the public what had Pham so hot in the dugout—was he pissed at Kim, a coach, a teammate, or perhaps all of the above? Fortunately, neither player suffered serious injury, as Pham was back in the starting lineup two days later and Kim started the next day.
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The 32-23 Cubs beat the 34-23 Padres 6-1, behind five strong innings from Adbert Alzolay.
Collin Sexton's Funny Indecision (1/30/2020)
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Basketball video game glitches are the best. Shoot, TSR's very first video was a glitch from an unreleased NBA game. Hoop stars are generally as athletic as athletic gets, so witnessing them being anything but fluid, graceful and smooth—even in digital form—messes with our senses.
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Every great once in a while, human players "glitch", too. Think Otto Porter's comatose defense. Or when JaVale McGee ran back on defense while his team had the ball. Or when Russell Westbrook literally carried the ball up the court as if dribbling wasn't a rule.
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Cleveland's Collin Sexton may have them all beaten, however. Just watch the clip:
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Notes: That is Toronto's Serge Ibaka who ultimately buries the three as Sexton spasms while trying to decide whether to guard Ibaka or #24 Norman Powell in the corner.
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Behind Ibaka's 26 points, Toronto beat the Cavs 115-109. Sexton finished with 23 on 9-of-17 shooting.
Big Papi Says Goodbye (10/10/2016)
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Baseball is a great sport for many reasons, but what sets it apart is the connection between players and fans. Unlike other sports, baseball players come into our living rooms nearly every day of half the year—sometimes more if they reach postseason or if you have MLB Network and can dig in to Spring Training games (as I do).
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So when someone you've watched dominate for 14 years decides to step away, it can feel like losing someone you actually know from your daily life. If I felt raw emotion watching longtime Red Sox superstar David Ortiz walk away after the 2016 season, I can only imagine what the team's actual fans must have felt.
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Notes: Did anyone else want to just spray those 30 photographers with something? Good Lord. That was not even remotely necessary.
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Those two fans at 0:35...I can relate. It was SOME ride for Big Papi, who led the Sox to championships in 2004, 2007 and 2013. He batted .290 with 483 homers and 1,530 RBI for Boston during the regular season; it felt like that much during the Postseason, too.
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Ortiz said goodbye after his Red Sox lost Game 3 of the 2016 ALDS against Cleveland. In the game, he walked twice and hit a sac fly before being replaced with a pinch-runner late.
Marshawn Lynch Breaks Tackles, Scores (1/8/2011)
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For those of you​ unsure of exactly WHY former Bills/Seahawks/Raiders RB Marshawn Lynch was nicknamed "Beast Mode", this video offers serious insight.
You see, there were times when Lynch, even in college, simply refused to be brought down by anything less than a throng of defenders. There is virtually no doubt if he'd been given the ball at the end of Super Bowl 49 (2014-15), Seattle would have scored. Lynch would not have allowed any other outcome. (Instead, QB Russell Wilson was intercepted by New England's Malcolm Butler.)
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How can anybody be so sure Lynch would have scored, you might ask. Well, check out what he did to the Saints defenders in the 2010-11 Playoffs!
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Notes: The play became known as the "Beast Quake", and put the game out of reach for the defending champion Saints. Seattle led 34-30 prior to this 4Q run and wound up winning 41-36. Not bad for a team who went 7-9 during the regular season.
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That's #22 Tracy Porter of New Orleans receiving a Hall-of-Fame stiff arm from Lynch, who gained 67 of his 131 rush yards on this play.
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Chicago would eliminate the Seahawks from postseason play the following week.
Tommy John's Three Errors On One Play (7/27/1988)
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Before anyone says anything, YES, there really was/is a Tommy John. He's not just a surgery—he was a 288-game winner in MLB for the White Sox, Dodgers, Yankees, Angels and others in a career spanning 27 seasons (though one of those seasons, he was out recovering from the eponymous surgery).
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You don't last that long in MLB without being damn good. You also don't last that long in MLB without an embarrassing moment or two. For John, his individual lowlight was possibly the time he committed three errors on a single play against Milwaukee in 1988.
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First, John bobbled Jeffrey Leonard's tapper near the mound. He then threw wide of first base, allowing Leonard to advance all the way to second. John then cut off a relay throw from the outfield and fired it wide of home plate attempting to retire runner Jim Gantner.
In the end, two Brewers runs scored on the play (including Leonard, since the last throw entered the dugout) and John's fielding percentage took a severe hit.
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Notes: The follies didn't come close to hurting John in the long run; he still went eight innings as New York trounced Milwaukee 16-3. Don Mattingly was the Yankee 1B and Don Slaught was the Yankee C.
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John committed 49 errors in his long career, but only one other in 1988.
Luis Robert Hit In Head By Fly Ball (4/3/2021)
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Budding White Sox star Luis Robert tore his hip flexor tendon in early May 2021. And as tough as it might be to imagine, that may not have been his most painful incident of the season (at least in the short term).
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A month prior, Angels 3B Anthony Rendon faced Sox SP Lance Lynn in the B3rd with two outs and David Fletcher on first base. Rendon lofted a popup to shallow CF; Robert, the center fielder, loudly called off SS Tim Anderson and seemed to be in position.
But instead of landing in his mitt, the popup clanged off Robert's head, sending the Los Angeles runners off to the races.
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Notes: With help from the off-target throw from Sox OF Adam Eaton, Rendon ended up at third base while Fletcher scored all the way from first base. Robert was charged with an error and Chicago eventually lost 5-3. But most importantly, Canseco—I mean, Robert—was uninjured and even singled twice after the bonking.
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Lynn, to his credit, handled the goof like a pro even though it cost him two runs.
Miller's Eight Points In Nine Seconds (5/7/1995)
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I know it's god awful irritating when the final 30 seconds of an NBA game wind up taking 15-20 minutes to actually play. Between time-outs, fouls, foul shots, replay reviews, etc., it can get downright painful to see a close game through to the end.
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But the interruptions and delays will continue to grind games to a halt because as long as there's time on the clock, there exists the faint possibility of a Miller Moment.
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If you were alive in 1995, you're aware of the infamous playoff game between the Knicks and Reggie Miller's Pacers where Miller not only dropped eight points in nine seconds—but also delivered the choke sign to famed director/Knicks superfan Spike Lee.
The setup: 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 1; New York led 105-99 with just under 19 seconds left in the 4Q. Helped by his own steal, Miller quickly poured in two triples and soon added two go-ahead free throws to completely rob the host Knicks of victory. An instant classic barrage from the former three-point king.
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Notes: That's Pacers G Mark Jackson (yes, that one) inbounding to Miller. That's Knicks F Anthony Mason (RIP) whose inbounds pass is stolen by Miller. The final score: Indiana 107, New York 105. Miller finished with a fitting 31 points on 7-of-18 from the floor, but 14-of-15 from the line.
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Indiana won the series in seven games, but bowed out to upstart Orlando in the Conference Finals.
Johnny Cueto Hit By Liner (3/14/2016)
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In my 31 years​ as a baseball fan, there's been a handful of free agent signings who were injured very early into their contracts and never recovered.
1B Nick Esasky of the 1990 Braves is an all-time example; he was done in for good by vertigo after nine games. OF Danny Tartabull of the 1997 Phillies broke his foot in his third game and never returned to MLB.
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But at least those two made it to the regular season. SP Johnny Cueto, a new free-agent addition to my Giants in 2016, flirted with disaster while Spring Training was still going on! A liner by Oakland leadoff hitter Billy Burns—on the game's first pitch—got Cueto right in the dome; an inch or two lower could have spelled disaster for the veteran righty.
Luckily, he was able to laugh it off and remain on the mound!
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Notes: It seemed Cueto's mass of braids under the do-rag absorbed some of the blow; he coughed up a three-run homer later that inning, but was able to complete his scheduled three frames without medical incident. Oakland won 10-3.
Matt Prater's Record Field Goal (12/8/2013)
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A couple of months ago, kicker Matt Prater of the Arizona Cardinals attempted what would have been a record 68-yard field goal. Nevermind that it fell short and was returned a record 109 yards for a touchdown—coach Kliff Kingsbury even having the confidence to send Prater out there speaks volumes.
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Kingsbury was surely aware that eight years prior Prater DID nail a record-long field goal while with the Broncos; Prater's 64-yarder against the visiting Titans in 2013 still stands as the longest made field goal in NFL history.
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Notes: Prater's historic kick ended the first half, and cut Tennessee's lead to 21-20. Denver—2013's AFC champion—exploded in the second half and walloped the Titans 51-28.
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Punter Britton Colquitt was the holder.
Carlos Quentin's Baserunning Gaffe (7/1/2014)
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Little Leaguers, I want you to know two things:
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#1) There are many sections of TSR you should avoid, and
#2) You're not the only ones guilty of spacing out during a baseball game. It can happen to the professionals, too.
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I don't know Carlos Quentin, the former D-Backs, White Sox and Padres outfielder, personally. But I've read a lot about him and not once did anyone ever describe him as anything other than intelligent on the field.
That being said, even intelligent people lapse, and in 2014 Quentin's bonehead baserunning took his Padres right out of an inning.
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Notes: The only explanation that makes sense: Quentin thought there were two outs and that Yasmani Grandal's popup represented the third out. It didn't—Grandal was only out #2.
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Mike Leake is the Reds pitcher, and 3B Todd Frazier executes the tag on Quentin.
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The play occurred in the B1st, giving Quentin plenty of time to atone for his mistake. He certainly did, homering and driving in three runs to help San Diego to the 8-2 victory.