The Most Bizarre Baseball Plays Ever

Fake Grand Slam, 2012

With the profusion of advertising banners and other distractions present in a modern stadium, knocking a dinger over the wall isn't as easy as it used to be. When the Nationals played the Cardinals in September of 2012, Nats outfielder Michael Morse hit a long ball with the bases loaded in the first inning. Unfortunately, the homer bounced off of an ad at the top of the fence and back into play, catching him out at second. When the umps examined the tape, though, they decided that it was actually a grand slam. The Nats had to return to their bases backwards, then Morse took a fake swing with no bat in his hands, and all of the players rounded the bases to home like normal. It was like watching little kids pretending to play in the World Series.

Buck Martinez Tags Two Men Out With A Broken Leg, 1985

You don't typically expect a bizarre play to come from a team's catcher, but anything can happen in this article. In 1985 the Toronto Blue Jays were facing the Seattle Mariners at the Kingdome, and behind the batter was Jays catcher Buck Martinez. Gorman Thomas was at the plate for the Mariners and Phil Bradley at second. Thomas wanged a solid base hit and the infield whipped it to Martinez to stop Bradley from scoring. Bradley slid into home so hard that it broke Martinez's leg and sent him helpless to the dirt. Amazingly, the catcher still had the cojones to try and get the ball to third to stop the advancing Thomas. The throw went wide, but left fielder George Bell got under it and threw it back to Martinez, lying prone on the ground, and he nailed Thomas as he came into home to put him out as well.  It's the only 9-2-7-2 double play in Major League Baseball history.

Eddie Gaedel Walks, 1951

Sure, today's athletes are larger than life, but this is ridiculous. Cleveland Browns owner Bill Veeck was known as a real publicity hound who would do anything to put butts in seats, but a stunt he pulled in 1951 stands as one of the craziest substitutions the sport of baseball has ever seen. The Browns were facing the Detroit Tigers and in the second game, manager Zack Taylor pulled Frank Saucier from the plate, replacing him with a pinch-hitter - and what a pinch. Eddie Gaedel was a dwarf, standing just three feet seven inches tall and wearing a jersey with the number "1/8." But this was no joke - Veeck had signed Gaedel to an official contract, so he was a legal player. Tigers pitcher Bob Cain tried to hit Gaedel's tiny strike zone, but threw four balls in a row and the little Brown walked to first base, was replaced by a pinch runner, and never played for the team again.

Paul O'Neill Plays Soccer, 1989

Baseball has relatively few rules telling you what to do with the ball once you have it, but Cincinnati Reds outfielder Paul O'Neill must have skipped the rulebook. In a 1989 game against the Phillies at Veterans Stadium, a lobbing hit to right field looked like an easy out. Unfortunately, O'Neill couldn't hold on to the ball and it fell out of his hands. What happened next was one of the nuttiest plays in baseball history - O'Neill kicked the ball with his left foot back to the infield, where it was picked up at third base to stop Steve Jeltz from scoring on the hit. The speed and accuracy of his spur of the moment kick were worthy of Pele. It's never happened before and it most likely will never happen again.

Seagulls Win The Game, 2009

Baseball is best played under the open sky, but that can lead to some interference from Mother Nature. In a 2009 game between the Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals, the game had gone into extra innings with Cleveland's Shin-Soo Choo up to bat and two men on base. However, there was a third group of players on the field: a flock of pesky seagulls who had been digging in the turf of Progressive Field for bugs all game. Choo smacked a tight line drive to centerfield as the Royals' hilariously-named outfielder Coco Crisp rushed into position to catch it, only to be flummoxed when the ball bounced off a seagull and rolled to the wall, letting all three men score. The bird survived, but was pretty dazed.

Jose Canseco Beanball Home Run, 1993

If you've ever wondered how Jose Canseco went from one of the most dominant men in baseball to the bizarre Twitter joke he is today, look back to a 1993 game between the Texas Rangers and the Cleveland Indians. At the start of the fourth inning, Cleveland's Carlos Martinez nailed a huge smack to the right wall, but Canseco was there, chasing down the ball and leaping to catch it. The ball, however, bounced right off of Jose's head and out of the park, putting the Indians on the path to victory. The rule is that any ball that is touched by a fielder and then leaves the park counts as a home run - even the head.

Bob Feller Fouls Off His Mom, 1939

Here's a pretty funny tale from baseball antiquity. Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller claimed that growing up on a farm gave him the strength to deliver his blistering fastball. Amazingly enough, it took his mother three years to come see him in a major league game, but it was an experience she wouldn't soon forget. On Mother's Day in 1939, Feller sent his mom a train ticket to Chicago and gave her front-row seats to the Indians' bout with the White Sox. Late in the game, Marv Owen stepped to the plate and swung on a Feller pitch, knocking it foul into the stands - and right in the face of the elder Ms. Feller, breaking her glasses and sending her to the hospital. Ever the devoted son, Bob finished out the game and the Indians won 9-4.

Brooks Conrad's Shirt Catch, 2010

It seems so simple to catch a baseball, right? Kids do it all the time. But things can get tricky out there on the diamond, as the Atlanta Braves learned in a loss to the White Sox in 2010. Chicago was up with two outs in the bottom of the fourth when Alex Rios knocked a low grounder to third base. It hopped once and was caught by Atlanta's Brooks Conrad - or was it? When he stood up, the ball was completely missing, and neither Conrad or shortstop Yuniel Escobar could find it for several seconds. It turns out that the baseball had actually rolled up inside Conrad's jersey in a once in a lifetime occurrence, getting caught between two buttons. The rest of the inning would turn out no better for the Braves, who eventually lost the game 9-6.