NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Not even the Automated Balls and Strikes (ABS) system can explain getting on base after striking out – and this is not an April Fool’s joke.
Houston Astros shortstop Cam Smith swung and missed on the first three pitches of a plate appearance Tuesday, but still managed to work a walk.
The count went 0-1, but on the second pitch that Smith fanned, a throwing error by Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong on a stolen base attempt brought in a runner from third, making it 6-1, Astros.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Houston Astros right fielder Cam Smith (11) walks against the Los Angeles Angels in the sixth inning at Daikin Park. (Thomas Shea/Imagn Images)
That brought the count to 0-2, but with the error, everyone seemed to have forgotten what the count was. Smith then swung and missed on the next pitch, but nothing happened on what should have been strike three.
Smith then fouled off the next pitch, then a ball, made another ball, then another out of the zone, then another ball. Then Smith took first base on what was actually ball three, which really shouldn’t have been anything.
So in all there were three swinging strikes and three balls, but still Smith walked. And no one on the field realized what was wrong.
Cam Smith of the Houston Astros reacts after hitting a home run in the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox at Daikin Park on March 31, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Houston Astros/Getty Images)
MLB UMPIRES CRITICIZED, LAUGHED FOR BIZAROUS CALL DURING BREWERS-RAYS GAME
Red Sox manager Alex Cora didn’t even seem to know what had happened regarding the appearance of the plate when he was available after the game. Pitcher Brayan Bello said he asked the umpire what the count was, and the umpire, Mark Wegner, admitted his “mistake.”
“I just saw the video,” Wegner told reporters, according to the New York Post. “I somehow didn’t count the second swing because I said the count was 1-2. It was actually strike three. . . . I’ve never done that before. I’m not happy about it. Just made a mistake.”
This isn’t the first time a case like this has happened — a YouTube channel called “Secret Base,” in its “Dorktown” series, highlighted other funky “two-strike strikeouts, three-ball walks, and other counting failures” in a video posted over five years ago. At the time the video was made, there were at least 35 incidents in MLB history, most of which occurred in the 21st century, oddly enough.
Cam Smith and Jake Meyers of the Houston Astros celebrate a home run in the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox at Daikin Park on March 31, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Houston Astros/Getty Images)
The mishap hardly mattered to the Sox as they fell 9-2 to the Astros.
