I’ll admit it right off the bat: I’ve watched baseball for a while, and I still couldn’t fathom why people were labeling this one particular play—the Pittsburgh Pirates versus the Chicago Cubs on May 27, 2021—as the “Dumbest Play in MLB History.” Yes, I saw the chaos but could it really be that bad? Turns out, the answer is a huge, hilarious yes. After a little digging, the sequence made sense: when basics get ignored, chaos ensues.
Setting the Scene
Top of the third inning, Chicago’s Javier Baez hits what should be a routine grounder to the Pirates’ third baseman. With two outs already on the board and a runner on second, you’d expect the first baseman (Will Craig) to simply catch the throw and step on first to end the inning. Except the throw pulls Craig slightly off the bag, and he makes a baffling decision: instead of turning around and tagging first base, he chases Baez back toward home plate—something you almost never see at this level.
It gets crazier. The runner on second sees this bizarre chase and bolts for home. Craig throws to the catcher, too late to prevent the run. And here’s the kicker: even if the run scored, the inning would’ve ended if Craig had just stepped on first base before Baez. Instead, Baez keeps the madness going, sprints to second when the dust settles, and the Cubs end up stealing a run and baserunner safety. All because the Pirates forgot the golden rule: on a force out, all you need to do is tag the base. It’s a comedy of errors you’ll have to see to believe.
Why This Play Went So Wrong
From a fundamentals standpoint, it doesn’t matter if the runner on second scores. As soon as the first baseman (or any baseman on a forced play) touches the bag before the batter-runner does, the inning is over—no more runs can possibly count. This is an essential concept in baseball strategy: the force out. Yet in the heat of the moment, Craig got distracted by Baez’s cat-and-mouse tactic. While Baez’s “baseball IQ” deserves some credit, he should never have gotten away with it in the first place. The Pirates simply forgot the basics, and that’s why this blunder ranks among the “dumbest” plays you’ll ever see.
Beginner’s Corner: Key Baseball Terms
- Ground Ball: A ball hit on the ground, typically resulting in a routine play for infielders.
- Force Out: An automatic out when a fielder tags the base to which a runner is forced to advance, regardless of whether the runner is physically tagged.
- Tag the Runner vs. Tag the Bag: If a runner must move to the next base (force situation), the defender only needs to tag the base with the ball in hand. In other cases, the defender must tag the runner directly.
If you love baseball highlights (and lowlights), YouTube is an endless vault of aha moments and baffling mix-ups. Sometimes, the silliest plays are the most educational—and trust me, they’re as fun to watch as they are to learn from. So here’s to more deep dives into the endlessly entertaining corners of baseball theory!
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