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Salvador Perez (accidentally) tackled an umpire

Have you ever been “in the zone?” Concentrating so hard on what you’re doing that you forget about everything else around you? Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez had an “in the zone” moment on Thursday night while the Royals were facing the St. Louis Cardinals. He was concentrating so hard on catching a foul ball that he completely forgot about the umpire standing behind him.

It happened in the bottom of the fourth. Perez was catching Chris Young, who had given up a homer to lead off the inning, and then handed out two two-out walks. With two runners on, Perez wanted Young to settle down and find the glove so they could get out of the inning. Pitcher Mike Leake was up next, but that was no reason to let their guard down (especially after allowing two walks).

On the 0-1 pitch, Leake stuck out his bat to attempt a bunt, but he bunted it foul. The ball floated up and back behind home plate, and Perez was on it right away. He stood up and ripped off his mask to look for the ball, and then did a 180 degree turn and lunged forward to try and catch it. Only Mike Everitt, the home plate umpire, was in his way. So instead of lunging forward to catch the ball, he ended up wrapping an arm around Everitt’s midsection and both of them took several awkward, off-balance steps backwards.

Salvador Perez accidentally tackles an umpire while trying to catch a foul ball.
Salvador Perez accidentally tackles an umpire while trying to catch a foul ball.

How did Everitt not fall down with Sal Perez attached to his waist, dragging him toward the ground? I have no clue, and I’m not sure that Everett knows either, but somehow he stayed upright. And he seemed genuinely amused by the whole thing. He was laughing as he helped Perez off the dirt, and so was Perez.

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Being a catcher is hard. While fielders catch a ball whenever it’s hit to them, catchers have to do it for every single pitch that’s thrown. They also have to call pitches, check the runners, catch fouls, and make sure their pitcher is doing okay on the mound. With so much to keep track of, it’s understandable that they’re going to be “in the zone” sometimes. Thankfully, at least one umpire understands it too.

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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher