Martin Maldonado literally hit the cover off of a baseball

By Apr 19, 2014, 12:10 AM EDT
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Brewers catcher Martin Maldonado literally hit the cover off of a baseball when he grounded a Charlie Morton fastball to third base in the sixth inning on Friday night. As the ball bounced towards third baseman Pedro Alvarez, one of the flaps came undone. Alvarez fired across to first base, but the resistance caused by the errant flap caused the ball to dive into the ground about halfway between the pitcher’s mound and first base. Maldonado was safe as a result.

There’s video proof that a baseball cliche literally came true:

[mlbvideo id=”32182671″ width=”600″ height=”336″ /]

Anthony Rendon fan interaction video looked into by MLB

Associated PressMar 31, 2023, 8:02 PM EDT
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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OAKLAND, Calif. – Major League Baseball is looking into a video circulating on social media that appears to show Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon grab a fan by the shirt through the bleacher guardrails after Thursday night’s game in Oakland, a league spokesperson said Friday.

Rendon looks to have grabbed the fan’s shirt near his chest through the bars of the railing and exchanged words with him before appearing to take a swipe at the bill of the man’s ballcap and walking into the tunnel.

Angels spokesman Adam Chodzko says the team has no comment. The Angels do not play Friday, but the club expects Rendon to address the video Saturday in the clubhouse before the game against the Oakland Athletics in Oakland.

The video shows the fan, dressed in A’s colors, approach the railing as Rendon turns toward him from the tunnel walkway below. Rendon then appears to grab the man’s shirt and ask him what he just said, accusing the fan of calling him a derogatory term before swiping at his ballcap.

The A’s won the game 2-1.