Mayhem Ensues As MiLB Catcher Cannot Find Ball Camouflaged Into First Base Line Right In Front Of Home Plate
Minor League Baseball catcher Antonio Gomez got confused on Tuesday night and it cost his team a run. The series of unfortunate events didn't end up making a difference in the final score, but it was a bizarre sequence that rarely, if ever, occurs.
It all went down between the Greenville Drive and Hudson Valley Renegades. The former is the High-A, South Atlantic League Minor League Baseball affiliate for the Red Sox, the latter is the same for the Yankees. So both sides got a taste of the rivalry.
Greenville had two runners on with no outs in the bottom of the first inning with Marcelo Mayer at the plate. Mayer, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, drove a ball deep to right field.
It made for a play at a plate, but Gomez could not handle the throw into the plate. One run scored.
At that point, the Drive had runners on the corners and Gomez could have put an end to the play by corralling the baseball. There was just one problem — he couldn't find the it.
Gomez was completely baffled. He looked left, he looked right, no luck.
The baseball had camouflaged right into the first base line. White (ish) ball on white line.
Greenville's pitcher tried to help him out, but Gomez couldn't figure it out.
In that moment, the Greenville runner took off down the third base line and scored. The Drive went down 0-2 on the error, and Gomez remained confused even after the run had crossed the plate.
He still couldn't find the ball. His teammates had to step in and help him out.
Greenville went on to lose by five, so the one (if not two, because Gomez had a chance to make the play off of the throw from right field) run(s) didn't end up playing a role in the outcome. Rather, the 21-year-old catcher and his teammates will forever tell the story of the camouflage baseball.