I heard a former professional baseball player share these stories quite a few years ago. In fact, I think that I was in college when I heard these tales. The player that told these stories never made it to the big leagues. He played a few years in the minor leagues, and then retired to coach baseball.

He played for a team that was not very good. In fact, they were absolutely terrible. His team did not win very many games. He said that they were so bad that when they had their first game rained out that they threw a victory party.

He shared two stories with us. The first story was about one of his teammates. It was in the bottom of the ninth. The batter had bunted the ball down the first base line. The first baseman charged the ball. When he fielded the ball, instead of throwing it to first, he decided that he would just tag the runner when he came running by him. But the batter totally startled the first baseman.

Instead of the batter coming on to first, he stopped, turned around, and went running back toward home plate. Really confused by the reaction of the runner, the first baseman responded to this unusual move by the batter by throwing the ball to his catcher. The next thing you know they had him in a run down between home and first base. Finally, after going back and forth several times, the batter just slid back into home plate. The catcher made the tag and the ump called the batter out.

He said his manager came running out of the dugout not to argue the call, but he was curious. He asked the umpire this question. "I just wonder what call you would have made if the batter had been safe?"

He shared another story about his not very good team. He stated that they were very short handed of players. One day the first baseman was out with an injury. The third baseman who had not played any other position except third base had to play first base.

The first time the ball was hit to him, he charged the ball, quickly fielded it, and following his normal instincts of a third baseman, and forgetting that he was playing first, he fired the ball across the field to third. He had played so many years at third base that his normal reaction was to field the ball and fire it across the field to first base.

So the first time the ball was hit to him, he completely forgot about being the first baseman. He reacted as he would have if he had been at third. Field the ball and threw it across the diamond to first base. Of course, first base was third base.

No wonder he retired after only a few years. Even in sports, laughter is the best medicine.

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