The Crooked Numbers column has compiled the nine most bizarre moments from the 2025 Minor League Baseball season, showcasing on-field oddities that highlight the unpredictable nature of the game. From bases-clearing walks to thunder-induced balks, these plays exemplify the truism that anything can happen in baseball.
The monthly Crooked Numbers feature, dedicated to Minor League Baseball's absurdities, highlighted over 50 strange incidents throughout 2025. Its 'best of' list, presented chronologically, captures the season's most memorable quirks.
On April 15, in Albuquerque, a bases-loaded walk turned into three runs due to chaotic base running and errant throws by El Paso's Omar Cruz against the Isotopes.
April 18 saw uncanny symmetry in Hartford, where identical 5-6-3 double plays occurred in both halves of the fourth inning between the Portland Sea Dogs and Hartford Yard Goats, both on 0-1 counts at 83 mph.
In Chattanooga on April 23, Columbus's Chandler Seagle hit a broken-bat single where the bat struck the ball twice, prompting broadcaster Larry Ward to exclaim, "I have never, ever seen that in my 45 years of calling baseball. Holy cats!"
May 21's 'Wild Wednesday' in Reno ended with a confusing walk-off: the Aces' Connor Kaiser's bases-loaded double was negated by interference, but Andy Weber scored amid the chaos to beat the Isotopes.
June 15 in Brooklyn featured maximum efficiency with five outs from two batters, including a triple play and a double play involving Asheville's Drew Vogel, leading to a Cyclones victory.
July 8 brought the 'thunder balk' in Norfolk, where pitcher Roansy Contreras halted his delivery due to thunder, allowing a run but still earning the win against Jacksonville.
On July 13, 45-year-old Rich Hill struck out 10 over five innings for Omaha, becoming the oldest to do so since Nolan Ryan in 1992.
August 12 went viral when Kannapolis's George Wolkow swung one-handed on a balk for an RBI single, explaining, "If it's a balk... it's a free swing."
The season closed September 28 with irony in the Triple-A Championship at Las Vegas: the 'home' Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, despite trailing, won 8-7 on Jacob Berry's walk-off homer after the Aviators' rally.
