Did The Reds Just Make The Worst Defensive Play In Baseball History?
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Forget Bill Buckner. Forget Chuck Knoblauch launching throws into the grandstands. Forget everything about Pablo Sandoval. This play (or non-play) by the Cincinnati Reds defense may just be the worst baseball play ever captured on video.
This GIF shows you everything you need to see. The Reds, trailing the Padres 7-2 in the bottom of the third inning, needed just one more out. Former Red Sox righty Bronson Arroyo, who is making a comeback to the majors at age 40 after two seasons out of the game due to injuries, induced a simple infield fly. Except for the Reds, the play was anything but simple, as the entire infield converged on the fly ball only for everyone to ... just stand there.
There have certainly been uglier-looking defensive plays over the years, but it would be hard to find a play in baseball history that had worse communication among the fielders.
The GIF is obviously outstanding, but I highly recommend watching the video at MLB.com. That's Don Orsillo, the former NESN play-by-play man who now calls games for the Padres, making the call.
The Reds lost the game to fall to 29-34 on the season, but they did land prized prospect Hunter Greene with the second pick in the draft. Greene recently appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, so, yeah, he's a phenom.
But despite the bright future for the Reds, that doesn't change that the current team just made an elite, all-time blooper reel play.
Correction: Arroyo is a righty, not a lefty as I had erroneously stated.
Matt Dolloff is a writer/producer for CBSBostonSports.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.