Dumb Ball

BY KEVIN KERNAN

Let’s face it, baseball has never been dumber.

It is one thing to play bad baseball; that can happen for any number of reasons. It is quite another to play Dumb Ball and longtime baseball men insist the game has never been dumber than it is now in 2026.

Every day brings about something you never thought you would see in a major league game. Just look at the triple error the Royals made against the Mets on Carson Benge’s little tapper Tuesday night in the first inning at Citi Field, where the Royals threw the ball all over the field.

After pitcher Seth Lugo threw the ball away at first base, first baseman Jac Caglianone had to run a long way to retrieve the baseball and without looking fired somewhere in the vicinity of home and third – even though the runner had stopped at third – both a physical and mental error. He was off target only by about 40 feet.

Third baseman Nick Loftin retrieved the bouncing ball and promptly threw it away at home. May I add that right-fielder Tyler Tolbert did not back up on Lugo’s bad throw to first that went deep down the right field line into foul territory. There was zero communication between Tolbert and Caglianone on the fact the runner at third, Bo Bichette, stopped so there was no need to rush his throw to nowhere.

This was not just throwing errors, it was poor execution all around, overall complacency and no sense of anticipation.

Every day that is the case in some manner, not a triple error but all kinds of mental and physical errors – and here is the key – with no accountability afterwards.

To call this play a Little League home run is a disservice to Little League. This past week I watched my granddaughter Sophie’s 12U Pequannock Little League softball team advance to the New Jersey State Tournament, one of the Final Four teams, and I did not see any such play like this doozy from the Royals. My son Casey coaches the team and as he told me this past week, “We practice all different scenarios.’’

Imagine if major league teams did that?

The Little League players are 12 so some physical errors occur, but their heads are in the game — unlike a lot of major league plays you see in 2026 where outfielders throw to the wrong base, baserunners make the first or third out at third base, something that used to be a no-no. Fielders forget the outs and toss the ball into the stands with only two outs. Baserunners get picked off base adjusting their sliding mitts.

Then there is just plain overall lack of hustle. It’s hard to run 90 whole feet.

I maintain that the MLB players of today could learn something about how to play the game from Little Leaguers.

As for lack of accountability, I read one account of the Royals game and had to laugh at the comment by manager Matt Quatraro who offered this excuse on the triple-error play, saying, “Even in pregame, the ball was wet. It’s just a really unfortunate play.’’

Change his title to Enabler, not Manager.

They may be smart Ivy Leaguers, but they have no clue how to teach the game, how to scout the game, how to be accountable to the game, how to play the game, how to win the game.

There should have been even more attention to detail and caution if the ball was indeed wet in pregame – and maybe offer a tip to his players like “it’s a little wet out there, let’s not do anything stupid like throw off balance on one leg’’ or caution, “know where you are throwing it,’’ or “let’s make sure to back each other up out there.’’

Something tells me Billy Martin or Earl Weaver would not offer his players a free pass as Quatraro did, saying the ball was wet and it’s just really an unfortunate play.

Unfortunate for poor Royals fans, that’s for sure.

Of course, the Mets – being the Mets – lost the game 16-12, blowing a 9-4 lead in the process because there is not a more undisciplined team in baseball than the David Stearns Mets. There is zero accountability from owner on down to the smug baseball boss Stearns, the players and their supposed leaders Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto.

Good thing the Mets got rid of Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo.

The run prevention Mets gave up 16 runs to an atrocious team and they did it at home in front of their tortured fans.

To be clear, though, this is not about the Mets or the Royals, two last-place team; this is about MLB’s lack of accountability and understanding of how to play the game and the pathetic baseball being played across the board.

The American League is a joke. The Yankees, who have the second-best record in the AL, just struck out 34 times over the last two games going into Wednesday’s action.

All this did not just happen overnight; it has been a breakdown of the game over years.

This is what happens when you put people in charge of teams and the game who don’t know baseball. They may be smart Ivy Leaguers, but they have no clue how to teach the game, how to scout the game, how to be accountable to the game, how to play the game, how to win the game.

The dumbing down of baseball is one large group effort, congratulations to commissioner Rob Manfred & Minions.

I searched out a veteran baseball man so he could explain how this all happened.

Do not take his words lightly.

“The Bible talks about the wisdom of our elders,’’ the baseball man told BallNine. “Well, they have pushed all of the elders out of the game. For 100 years, those who played the game at the highest level and understood how to be successful, and who have passed that wisdom onto players, that wisdom is now out of the game. That wisdom is not being passed on. There is nobody in that dugout that can put their arm around a kid to say the things that narrow it down and put some common sense back in the game. Simple things like, get a good pitch to hit. Don’t try to hit it over the fence. Hit the ball hard from gap to gap. Run the bases hard. Play good defense. Don’t try to do too much. Command your fastball. Throw changeups. Read swings.

“Teams need to find players who want to punch you in the mouth, players who have a passion for the game,’’ he added. “All these little things have been lost in the game today.’’

As a result, players are like a rudderless ship, letting the tide and their emotions take them out to sea. There is no captain of the ship. Managers have been turned into do-nothing puppets, who no longer dare to put their players in their place.

Yes, there are more coaches than ever before in the overcrowded dugouts, but the irony is that there is so little coaching being done. Yes, there are more performance coaches and strategists at every level than ever before, but the day-to-day performance has never been uglier.

Teams are much too comfortable and the Yankees are the poster child for this attitude, especially Jazz Chisholm Jr. My friend, writer Dean Balsamini, a longtime Yankee fan, put it perfectly saying, “The Yanks are so comfortable their logo should be a pillow.’’

He also pointed to the Mets in their 16-12 Clown Car loss to the Royals, pointing out that two of the three Mets batters in the bottom of ninth got out on the first pitch against an erratic closer, Lucas Erceg, who averages 5.5 walks per nine innings. Erceg had to throw all of five pitches to close out the Mets. Way to battle, Mets.

Baseball common sense would tell you to take a few pitches and make the pitcher work, but the Mets have no baseball common sense or simply don’t care. I’ve seen a number of times this year where the Mets make quick outs when they are trailing late. The loss marked only the second time in their history the Mets lost a game when they scored 12 runs, a bit like the baseball equivalent of losing a 29-point lead in the NBA Finals, something the Spurs managed to do against the Knicks.

Going into Wednesday, the Run Prevention Mets (RPM) had allowed 45 runs over their last four games, the second-most in franchise history.

As for the Yankees, 17 strikeouts in back-to-back games, that is something. Katie Sharp noted the second 17K game against the Rays featured zero walks for the Yankees, tying the mark for the most strikeouts without a walk in franchise history. Way to go Boonie Boys.

More and more statistics like that are popping up this year throughout baseball because the game has never been so misguided. Then there is the other issue of not understanding or caring on how to give the fans what they want, like the Marlins Nerds taking pitcher Eury Perez out of a perfect game when he retired the first 21 batters on 92 pitches over seven innings. Memories lost. The Marlins have never had a pitcher throw a perfect game.

At this rate, baseball will never see another perfect game but there will be countless Tommy John surgeries to come in the max velocity, super sweeper approach to the game.

Manfred & Co. also did not have the good sense to put Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler in the All-Star Game that will be played Tuesday in his home ballpark – Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia – only because he is scheduled to pitch the Sunday before the All-Star Game. That’s MLB in a nutshell, making up another absurd rule, declaring he could not pitch in the All-Star Game because he starts Sunday. Fake runners. Fake rules.

As Wheeler rightfully pointed out, Tuesday would be his bullpen day anyway so he could easily make an appearance in the All-Star Game, giving Phillies fans the chance to celebrate the moment.

“It’s kind of B.S.,’’ Wheeler said after striking out 14 Reds in a 4-1 win Tuesday night. “I feel like I’ve earned it. They could have done it a couple of different ways. You’d figure they’d have a clue about it by now with how many All-Star Games they’ve had. I’d be fine for an inning, but I guess it is not even an option.’’

Yep, just another dumb moment in the dumbing down of Major League Baseball.