This swing by a minor-leaguer leads to the worst strikeout ever
May 28, 2017, 9:01 AM | Updated: 2:26 pm
Is this the most bizarre strikeout ever? Yes. #SCNotTop10 pic.twitter.com/ViaYjzb15d
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 28, 2017
We have found the worst strikeout ever.
In Binghamton, New York on Friday, the Hartford Yard Goats were facing the Binghamton Rumble Ponies when Pony pitcher Cory Burns wound up to pitch but pulled up halfway through his delivery, tossing the ball just a few feet in front of the mound.
Yard Goats batter Josh Fuentes took a playful, joking swing at the pitch. This is a problem because the ball is actually live. That means that Fuentes swung and missed.
This was news to Fuentes. It was not to the very woke umpire, who quickly called a strike three. The Rumble Ponies’ catcher tagged Fuentes to get the out and end the Yard Goats’ inning.
Fuentes then hunched over — probably because he was embarrassed.
This is objectively the worst strikeout ever, but Fuentes wasn’t the only one with questionable work at the job during this game.
MiLB.com’s pitch tracker — or is this manually tracked in Double-A ball? — wasn’t exactly on point, either. It registered the fourth and final pitch of the at-bat in the top of the eighth inning as a ball right down the middle of the strike zone.
By the naked eye, that’s pretty far from accurate.
