Must-Read: 50 Best Baseball Plays Ever

Merkle's boner!

Baseball is terrible right now. It’s in this weird dead area when there is not a single question of who is getting into the playoffs (maybe in the AL West between Texas and the Angels, but the Angels are so terrible despite being so good, that it’s kind of tough to root for them to pass the Rangers because they would easily get swept in the postseason), but just a question of their seeding. Not a single one. And really, who cares? Sure, you can watch your favorite team trot out some of their younger Triple-A caliber talent in order to try and get you pumped up for next year, but that’s just trying to trick yourself into being entertained.

The point is, this list over at Men’s Health about the 50 best plays in MLB history is an extraordinary read and something that will, for a bit, get you over the fact that baseball is, like we said, terrible right now. Go to the list here. We’re going to highlight this one, because it has the word “boner” in its name, which makes us giggle, because we are still very immature:

49. Merkle’s Boner

September 23, 1908: Giants? rookie Fred Merkle?s failure to touch second base on what appeared to be a game-winning hit against the Cubs resulted in the game ending in a tie, to be made up if necessary. At the end of the season, the Giants and Cubs tied for first place in the National League, and the Cubs won the makeup game to take the National League pennant. ?Merkle has gone down in history as one of these great goats, but it wasn?t really his fault,? said Neil Lanctot, author of three books on baseball, including Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella. ?Merkle admitted that he had not touched second base, but said he only left the field after the infield umpire assured him the game was over.?

Thank goodness football is back.