MLB's 10 biggest bloopers of 2016
Even athletes fall down sometimes.
In a full 162-game season, there is never a shortage of embarrassing blunders committed by the boys of summer and occasionally, even the fans.
From vicious face plants to a fan wiping out while trying to catch a fly ball with a pie, here are the best bloopers from 2016:
Posey's face-first slide goes very wrong
Buster Posey's face meet third base. The talented San Francisco Giants catcher was the victim of an unfortunate slide gone wrong in a game against the Miami Marlins. Good news? He was safe on the play. Bad news? It left a pretty bad gash on his chin.
Panda's belt-busting at-bat
Pablo Sandoval's 2016 campaign is one he would surely like to forget. The third baseman's weight gain was a growing concern heading into the season, an issue that was brought to light in the Boston Red Sox second game of the year when Panda's belt broke in a plate appearance against the Toronto Blue Jays. It would be the second of three games Sandoval played all season after a shoulder injury kept him out the rest of the way.
Lindor isn't a fan of Tropicana Field's catwalk
Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay hasn't earned the greatest reputation as a baseball stadium over the years, as the enormous catwalk and white ceiling are big reasons why the eyesore of a ballpark is among the worst facilities in MLB. Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor can attest to that after he completely lost a ball to the aforementioned impediment. Lindor, being one of the more humorous players around, made light of the situation pretending to catch the ball afterward.
Trout runs over an umpire, who isn't impressed
Telling the story of being bulldozed by the best player in baseball would be an entertaining tale for most people, but this one umpire didn't seem too happy afterwards. After Mike Trout ripped a ball in the infield, he hustled to first base abruptly colliding with the umpire. The two-time AL MVP, who isn't a lightweight by any means listed at 235 pounds, apologized as he made his way back to first.
Fan wipes out after trying to catch fly ball with pie
It's doubtful anyone assumes catching a fly ball holding a pie is easy, but that didn't stop this brave Seattle Mariners fan from trying. It didn't end well, though, leading to a hard fall, destroying the pie in the process.
It's a bird, it's a plane - no, it's Ramirez's helmet
Many players tend to lose their helmets going from first to second base, but not many experienced what Jose Ramirez did this season. After ripping a line drive to the outfield, Ramirez's helmet flew off, hit the back of his foot as he dove into second, flew in the air and hit him in the back. The timing of it all was perfect, leading to one of the most interesting bloopers of the year.
Altuve literally falls short of cycle
Jose Altuve did a ton of great things throughout his MVP-caliber 2016 season, but this is one he probably wants back. Needing a triple to complete hitting for the cycle, Altuve ripped a line drive to deep left-center field. On his horse, reaching third seemed realistic until he tripped up and wiped out badly at second base. Even though he didn't achieve the cycle, it was Altuve's eighth four-hit game of the year.
Fan flails over fence for foul ball, ends up with nothing
It's safe to assume at this point that this fans' hand eye coordination isn't the best. After his valiant attempt to hurdle the fence for a foul ball led to nothing but fellow spectators pulling him back into the stands, the young man is tossed a ball for his efforts anyway. The only problem is he goes on to drop it again, and the ball falls back onto the field. Not smooth.
Lindor's bat magic
Lindor's emergence as one of baseball's best young players didn't come without some interesting moments this season. From being spooked by fly balls in Tropicana Field to tripping over his own bat, the 23-year-old seemed to be in the middle of it all. While running to first, Lindor's bat gets caught up in his feet resulting in a tumble. At least he got a good laugh afterwards.
Puig botches easy catch, kicks wall in frustration
Yasiel Puig's talent is undeniable, when he's focused that is. After hustling in the outfield for a foul ball, Puig tracked it down only to drop an easy catch leading to the Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder taking his frustrations out on the wall with a vicious kick. Luckily for Puig, padding prevented him from suffering an injury.
(Videos courtesy: MLB.com)