Sloppy play has led to a number of charged errors during the 2009 MLB playoffs. Onion Sports examines the long, storied tradition of postseason errors.
1903: In a much stricter time, Pirates shortstop Honus Wagner makes a throwing error by not hitting the first baseman’s target directly. The Pirates go on to lose the Series five games to three
1908: Following Fred Merkle’s infamous World Series baserunning error, baseball analysts refer to the play as “Merkle’s Boner” and think that’s okay
1986: Bill Buckner gives up three straight singles and throws a wild pitch before letting a ground ball roll between his legs
1988: In Game 1 of the World Series, A’s closer Dennis Eckersley misreads the sign for a fastball, mistaking it for a hanging-slider-to-give-up-a-game-winning-home-run
2001: Though Jason Giambi certainly muffs a fifth-inning ground ball, his real error is standing around and apologizing while the batter comes all the way around to score
2003: Both runners are ruled safe when Cubs infielder Alex Gonzalez ruins a routine double play by scooping up second base and then throwing it into the stands
2008: Despite the fact that he did not touch the ball the entire game, the official scorer takes one look at Adam Dunn and gives him an error
2009: St. Louis outfielder Matt Holliday makes an error on a tricky fly ball that wasn’t so much tricky as it was routine, and wasn’t so much a fly ball as it was a dinky piece of shit that any moron could catch
