Matt Christopher's Baseball Jokes and Riddles (4 page)

When New York Met Jimmy Piersall, a player known for his on-the-field antics, ran around the bases after hitting his one hundredth
career home run on June 23, 1963, he ran them in order—but backwards!

Oakland A’s pinch runner Allan Lewis, known as “The Panamanian Express,” once tried to score from second base—by way of the
pitcher’s mound!

On September 8, 1965, Bert Campaneris made major league history by becoming the first player to play all nine positions—in
one game!

St. Louis Browns pitcher Ellis Kinder was happy he was playing “heads up” ball in a game against the Red Sox in 1947. If he
hadn’t been, he would have been hit by a fish that a seagull dropped on the mound! (Could it be the seagull was a Red Sox
fan?)

In a game at Cleveland Stadium on May 26, 1993, Jose Canseco, then a Texas Ranger, went up against the outfield fence to snag
a long ball hit by Carlos Martinez. Jose missed the ball with his glove—but the ball didn’t miss him. It bounced off his head
and popped over the fence for a home run!

Manager:
Why are you holding your ribs?

Base Runner:
I was caught in a squeeze play!

Trainer:
You look a little dragged out.

Base Runner:
I was just run down between second and third.

By the end of the 1973 season, Hank Aaron was just one home run short of tying Babe Ruth’s 714 home run record. But he
had
broken another record already: He had received 930,000 pieces of mail, more mail than any other American except the president
of the United States!

Future Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson of the Cardinals broke his leg during the pennant race of 1967. He grew tired of answering
the same questions over and over, so he taped a sheet of paper to his shirtfront with this message:

1. Yes, it’s off.
   
2. No, it doesn’t hurt.
   
3. I don’t know how much longer.
   

In 1934, Moe Berg was invited to Japan as a third-string catcher of the American League All-Star team. While the game was
going on, Moe did a strange thing. He dressed in a black kimono and climbed to the roof of a nearby hospital to take pictures
of Tokyo. Moe was simply taking time out for his other, part-time job—as a spy for the United States government!