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The Washington Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman may have switched to first base just last year, but a veteran player like him would not make excuses for botching a routine play like this, regardless of whether he’s still learning a new position.

In the bottom of the first inning of Wednesday’s spring training game, New York Mets third baseman David Wright hit a soft pop-up to first that should have been the second out of the inning. However, Zimmerman initially went a step or two too far back and had to correct himself.

Then, “Oh my goodness, that’s embarrassing.” You can say that again.

Wright’s routine pop-up fell in for a “single” as Zimmerman ate dirt, and there were smiles all around when the fielder and runner met at first base. Fortunately for the Nationals veteran, Wright did not wind up scoring.

[MLB.com] 

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Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo is a man of many talents.

On the diamond, the two-time All-Star can get on base, crush the ball and drive in runs.

Off the field, he is a master of the keyboard.

No team has had more fun at spring training this year than the Cubs. With camp winding down, the players are doing their best to enjoy every moment they have left together in Arizona. 

The latest random team bonding experience? A piano recital Rizzo put on. 

It’s obvious from the video above that the team is a big fan of Train’s “Drops of Jupiter.” As for a recent song, Adele’s “Hello” was also a big hit:

[Twitter, h/t For The Win]

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Come on, Jake Marisnick. Why did you have to do Jose Altuve like this?

Some people have underestimated Altuve in the past because he is just 5’6″. Rather than let his height hold him back, the Houston Astros second baseman has proved his doubters wrong and turned into a perennial All-Star.

However, no matter how well he performs on the field, his teammates will always look to have some fun at his expense whenever they can.

On Tuesday, Marisnick, an Astros outfielder, tweeted out a photo of what appears to be the team’s bathroom. The picture shows that Altuve has his own urinal—but not because he is the team’s best player or anything like that. Because he is short.

In case you were wondering, there is no player on Houston’s 40-man roster shorter than Altuve. Infielder Tony Kemp, though, is also listed as 5’6″. Unfortunately for Altuve, Kemp is not projected to make the Opening Day roster, so for the time being, he will have to handle all of the short jokes by himself.

[Jake Marisnick, h/t Sports Illustrated‘s Extra Mustard]

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With a game against the Cleveland Indians on tap Saturday, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto got the crowd ready for the “Battle of Ohio: Arizona” in a fitting way.

The LeBron James chalk toss.

The 2010 National League Most Valuable Player doesn’t tend to show much personality on the field, but given that it’s spring training, he decided to give the fans a show. And it was something Cleveland fans could appreciate.

Votto went 1-for-3 in a 7-4 victory over the Indians.

[Cincinnati Reds]

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Los Angeles Angels star Albert Pujols has never had an at-bat against Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Wily Peralta in a regular-season game, but the veteran hitter apparently has him all figured out.

Pujols led off the bottom of the third inning of Saturday’s spring training game with a solo shot to left field. That blast turned out to be a rally-starter, as the Angels would wind up batting around and then some.

The Los Angeles designated hitter got a second at-bat in the inning, producing the same result—a home run. This time, it was a two-run shot that was such a no-doubter that the left fielder didn’t even bother giving chase.

Two at-bats, two home runs. Not a bad inning.

Pujols’ two homers powered an eight-run inning that saw the Angels take a 10-5 lead. The 36-year-old slugger went 3-for-3 with two home runs and four RBI in a 15-7 victory.

[MLB.com]

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An embarrassing mental lapse by Los Angeles Angels left fielder Daniel Nava led to arguably the most bizarre double play in MLB history.

Even though it happened during a spring training game, it still counts in the annals of odd plays.

In the top of the fifth inning of Tuesday’s game in Tempe, Arizona, Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager hit a fly ball just short of the warning track in left field. Nava had plenty of time to camp under the ball and record the out.

And then craziness unfolded.

Nava—who made his MLB debut in 2010—thought the inning was over, so he turned and tossed the ball into the crowd beyond the left field wall. The only problem is there were now just two outs in the inning—and a runner was on base.

By rule, the Mariners’ Stefen Romero, who was on first base at the time of the pitch, was awarded two bases because the ball was thrown out of play.

As if all of that wasn’t weird enough, there’s more.

Romero did not realize he had to tag up, as a runner is required to do in order to advance on a normal flyout. He was between first and second at the time of Nava’s mental lapse and just proceeded to go to third base. Wisely, Angels manager Mike Scioscia had his team appeal.

Out. “Double play” complete.

“We’ve been working on that play a lot this spring,” Nava joked, per Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. “I skipped a lot of the beginning math classes in California. Obviously I didn’t stay up on my accounting. But my [two-year-old] daughter, she’ll teach me tonight how to count to 10. Or to three.”

Fittingly, the game ended in a 4-4 tie.

It’s not unheard of for a player to lose track of outs during a contest. Throughout the course of a 162-game season (not including spring training and the postseason), it’s bound to happen. However, this may be the first time that a team has gotten a second out on the play.

[MLB.com]

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It’s been nearly eight-and-a-half years since Barry Bonds last played in an MLB game, but as the Miami Marlins learned this week, baseball’s all-time home run king still has plenty of pop in his bat.

According to SiriusXM’s Craig Mish, Bonds—Miami’s hitting coach—took on Giancarlo Stanton and other Marlins players in a team competition at camp on Wednesday. Almost a decade after retiring, the former San Francisco Giants slugger picked up right where he left off.

Wait a second, the 51-year-old Bonds hit more home runs than the Giancarlo Stanton? The same player who has 64 home runs in just 219 games the past two seasons and was the runner-up for the 2014 National League Most Valuable Player award? Apparently so.

Update from Wednesday, March 16 at 4:55 p.m. ET

Here are some details about the contest, courtesy of the Miami Herald‘s Clark Spencer:

A handful of Marlins took part in a practice field hitting drill in which the goal is to “score runs” by whatever means — singles, doubles, triples or home runs. Because one of the three-man teams was short a player, Bonds — the Marlins’ new hitting coach — was asked to join.

Bonds was on the same team as Stanton and Christian Yelich.

It does not sound as though it was a true home run derby, but Bonds did outslug the Marlins’ franchise player.

“He hit more home runs than me, yes,” Stanton said, per Spencer.

Needless to say, the Miami right fielder walked away amazed.

“It was pretty impressive,” Stanton said. “[Put] another 51-year-old out there and he’d probably snap his back in half. That was probably one of the coolest things we’ve done.”

–End of Update–

Unfortunately, Mish was not able to get video of the action.

Mish also tweeted about Bonds’ reaction to the day’s events:

Bonds hit 762 home runs in his 22-year MLB career—and it appears as though he might be able to hit a few more if he got into the lineup this season.

[Craig Mish, h/t Sports Illustrated‘s Extra Mustard]

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Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost has the power to break concrete blocks using his bare hands—and he has the marks to prove it.

Once again, motivational speaker Donnie Moore made his way to Royals camp. This time around, he was able to get the 60-year-old Yost to successfully complete a “feat of strength.”

The task: break a stack of bricks.

As Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star shows, the skipper didn’t walk away from the stunt unscathed:

Don’t worry, Royals fans. Yost isn’t planning on letting his pitchers try the trick.

[MLB.com]

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Milwaukee Brewers prospect Jacob Nottingham learned the hard way that he has to be careful where he parks his car at the team’s spring training complex.

Especially when he is scheduled to take batting practice that day.

On Saturday, the 20-year-old catcher tweeted a photo of his car’s windshield—which was broken by a ball Nottingham hit. 

The good news for Nottingham is he has some pop in his bat. The bad news is his car has to go to the shop as a result.

It appears as though someone is willing to help him with his little problem:

Next time, either park away from the field or carpool with a teammate.

[Twitter]

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Nobody is having more fun during this year’s spring training than the Chicago Cubs.

Of course, some of that fun comes at the expense of certain people. On Wednesday, it was Tim Buss, the Cubs’ strength and conditioning coordinator, who found himself subjected to a little hazing.

According to ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers, one of Buss’ duties is to loosen up the squad at the beginning of the workouts, which may include some teasing. He apparently went a little overboard Tuesday, because he found himself bound to a chair the next day.

If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime. Fortunately, it appears Buss accepted his punishment in stride.

“They got me,” Buss said, per Rogers.

It’s not clear what exactly led to the disciplining of the strength coach, but Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Buss said there were some weird circumstances involved:

Yeah, we’re definitely going to need more details.

[Instagram, Twitter]

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