Baseball is a magnificent sport. As fans, we love majestic diving plays that defy our expectations and the little big moments that you know will live on forever the moment you see them. However, in addition to the soaring home runs and the pitches that make our jaws drop, we sometimes witness the other side of the sport — the whoops, uh-ohs, and the gaffes that make us laugh. Below are five of the latter that happened in the 2021 MLB season.

1. Ke’Bryan Hayes and Adam Duvall Lose Some Home Runs

Baseball isn’t a complicated sport. Players learn the basics early on: after you swing a bat at a pitched ball, you have to step on each base as you pass, and you cannot pass your teammate on the basepaths. Well, even big leaguers like Hayes and Duvall can sometimes fail at remembering these guidelines. The rookie Hayes forgot to touch first base during a game for the Pirates, while Duvall passed his teammate on the basepaths when he got confused about where the ball actually went.

2. Edmundo Sosa’s Ripped Baseball Pants

Wardrobe malfunctions happen to the best of us. When Sosa’s unfortunate accident happened, fans were quick to wonder which was more hilarious — Sosa’s unfazed reaction to a silly mishap, the umpire’s humorous facial expression, or the Cubs shortstop Sergio Alcántara who couldn’t contain his laughter when he saw what happened.

3. Rob Refsnyder Learns the Dimensions of Camden Yards…

While some people like to learn theory, others prefer to do it in practice. Such was the case with the Twins outfielder Rob Refsnyder when Orioles slugger Ryan Mountcastle went deep on the May 31st baseball game between the two teams. While trying to outrun the ball and catch it, Refsnyder literally ran into the walls of Camden Yards. Fortunately, he wasn’t hurt (well, maybe his ego was, but that’s repairable).

4. Luis Robert Puts His Head to Extra Use

Luis Robert, The Panther, is pure excitement on the baseball field. And on April 4th, he reminded us all of why he has that nickname. He showed that his head doubles as an excellent launching pad for baseballs to bounce right off!

5. The Pirates Forget How to Baseball…

We all knew this would be the biggest blooper of the year for baseball the moment it happened. The May 27 game between the Pirates and the Cubs will forever remain a chuckle-worthy moment for all fans of the sport. When Javier Báez hit a grounder to third base, everything seemed normal. It was when first baseman Will Craig received the toss and started following Báez back toward the plate that things got awkward. That allowed Willson Contreras to come around from second base and score. When Báez finally ran to first, the throw went wild, and the Cubs shortstop wound up on second. Yep, baseball sometimes just… fails.

It seems that the New York Rangers are not particularly happy with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety because of their handling of the Tom Wilson situation. As fans know, during Monday’s game against the New York Rangers, he punched Pavel Buchnevich while on the ice. Later, Wilson pulled Artemi Panarin to the ground by his hair, and that led to an injury that will keep him out until the end of the season.

The Department Has Only Fined Tom Wilson for the Situation

Apparently, the only punishment Tom Wilson will get is a $5000 fine. However, former NHL enforcer John Scott, Rangers head coach David Quinn, and forward Mike Zibanejad reacted strongly to that move. The Rangers even took it one step further and released an official statement, expressing their disgust with the NHL over their decision to not suspend Wilson for his violence.

Tom Wilson Is a Repeat Offender and Considered a Reckless Player By Many

In their statement, The New York Rangers point out how extremely disappointed they were that Tom Wilson was not suspended. They maintain that Wilson is a repeat offender with a long history of violent acts and add that they find it shocking that the NHL’s Department of Player Safety has failed to enforce the appropriate punishment and suspend the forward. They continue to point out how Wilson’s reckless actions have caused an injury to Artemi Panarin that will not allow him to play again during the season. The team views this as a dereliction of duty by George Parros, the NHL’s head of player safety, calling him unfit to continue serving in his role.

Recently, Wilson was fined for concussing another player, and it seems he has not decided to change his ways of intentionally hurting players. While it does not seem that the Rangers will make it to the playoffs, Panarin will have to recover from an injury he shouldn’t have received in the first place, while Wilson will be allowed to play for the remainder of the season.