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Batboys normally don’t get a lot of attention at baseball games, but when they do, it’s usually funny or embarrassing. This was the case during the San Francisco Giants’ 15-2 domination over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night. 

During the top of the first inning, Phillies outfielder Ben Revere fouled a ball into the stands. The batboy, who also delivers baseballs to the umpire when needed, jogged onto the field to hand them over. However, on his way, he took a spill and slipped right in front of the home plate ump. He proudly stood up with plenty of cheers from the crowd. All he could do was laugh about it in the dugout with other Giants players. 

For his sake, it was a perfect slide and left a cool imprint in the grass. 

Follow @ArmanWalia on Twitter.

[MLB]

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From ditching a cell phone and beer to almost sacrificing two drinks, we’ve seen people do crazy things to get a baseball at a game, but this one might take the cake. Actually, this one definitely tops everything. 

A dedicated fan jumped into McCovey Cove to grab a home run ball at the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants game on Friday night. 

During the bottom of the seventh inning, the Giants’ Joe Panik launched a two-run shot to right field off Phillies pitcher Jeanmar Gomez. The ball bounced over the soon-to-be wet fan, and without hesitation, he jumped into the water. 

He didn’t even think twice and fist-pumped the souvenir while trying to stay afloat. Understandably, getting a home run ball at a baseball game is awesome, but what about his wallet? Cell phone? Keys? Gum? 

It didn’t matter to this guy. He eventually got out of the water with help from stadium officials and a ring buoy. He was smiling cheek-to-cheek, so to him, it was all worth it. 

The fan’s smile probably lived on after the game, as the Giants destroyed the Phillies 15-2. 

Follow @ArmanWalia on Twitter. 

[MLB, h/t SB Nation]

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You really can’t get any more ‘Merica than this. 

Bryce Harper went all out celebrating the Fourth of July by knocking a two-run homer off San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner while using the most patriotic bat in history. 

On top of the stars on the Nationals’ jerseys, Harper used an America-themed bat to send the ball over the fence. 

It was Harper’s 25th home run of the year, which put him in an exclusive group at his age. 

The announcer said it best. “Stars on the shirt, stars on the bat, star in the batter’s box.” 

The long ball gave the Nationals a 3-0 lead early in the game. 

[MLB, Twitter]

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Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer decided to have a little fun during his at-bat in the top of the seventh inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night. 

Gearing up for his third at-bat of the night, Bauer imitated three teammates’ batting stances: Mike Aviles, Jason Kipnis and Ryan Raburn. The announcers were loving the performance and looking forward to each pitch to see what came next. 

The funniest part of all this, Bauer reached first base on a walk, receiving cheers and a big applause from his teammates. The Indians came out on top, defeating the Pirates 5-2. 

[MLB]

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Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer was one strike away from throwing a perfect game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday when he beaned Jose Tabata. Scherzer got the next batter to fly out, giving him a no-hitter and the Nationals a 6-0 victory. 

Many fans are angry because it looked like Tabata leaned in with his elbow, erasing what would have been MLB‘s 24th perfect game in history. 

Scherzer spoke about the controversial play after the game, per SportsCenter:

What do you think?

[MLB]

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A hungry pigeon apparently couldn’t find any food on Friday night, so it decided to check out the infield at Coors Field. This normally wouldn’t have been a problem, but the Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies were in the middle of a game. 

The pigeon was stationed in front of Brewers second basemen Hernan Perez and wouldn’t move. Perez tried to shoo off the bird, but he had no luck.

The Rockies’ Ben Paulsen hit what would have been a routine ground ball, but it looks like the pigeon got in the way and Perez hesitated, allowing Paulsen to beat out the throw for an infield single. 

The home-field luck ran out, as the Brewers went on to win 9-5.

[MLB] 

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Alex Rodriguez homered for his 3,000th career hit against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Yankee Stadium off Justin Verlander. The New York Yankees slugger became just the 29th player in MLB history to reach that milestone.

Nonetheless, the 39-year-old’s name has been linked to performance-enhancing drugs, and the New York Post and Daily News reminded us of that.

Rodriguez has been painted as a villain coming into this season after serving a yearlong suspension due to PEDs. That said, his career numbers are some of the best of all time: 667 home runs (fourth), 2,004 RBI (third), 3,000 hits (tied for 28th) and 1,957 runs (eighth).

[Twitter]

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The New York Yankees called up Mason Williams less than 24 hours ago, and the young kid wasted no time making an impact. 

During the fourth inning against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night, Williams hit a monster two-run home run to cut the Orioles’ lead to two. It was the outfielder’s first career hit.

The best part about all of this? The family you see going insane is Williams’ family. Listen to what his mom has to say about this awesome moment. 

[MLB, ESPN]

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A fan at the Tampa Bay Rays–Seattle Mariners game may have left Safeco Field with a broken heart Friday night. 

The fan yelled to get Rays pitcher Chris Archer’s attention. When Archer looked, the young man blew him a kiss. The right-hander looked at the fan in disgust, then abruptly caught the kiss, making the fan’s day. The excitement didn’t last long, as Archer then threw the kiss over the dugout railing out onto the field.

Stay strong, fan.

[YouTube, h/t SB Nation]

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Things got a little stinky (had to do it) during the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers game on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. 

Four skunks were trapped inside the Cardinals dugout underneath a photographer stand before the game started. Stadium operations staff and animal control teamed up to attempt to remove the animals, but they had no luck.

After realizing the game was approaching start time, the decision was made to trap the skunks with bait using fresh salmon and remove them after the game was over. 

According to reporter Jim Hayes, there is a skunk problem around the stadium and this has happened before. Thankfully, they usually don’t spray, which would cause a whole other problem. 

Hayes live-tweeted the whole ordeal. 

The skunks proved to be good luck for the Cardinals, as they prevailed 2-1 over the Dodgers, scoring both runs in the eighth inning. 

[MLB, Twitter]

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