Sure, rookies often make mistakes, but when the error comes at a time as crucial as this one, it’s hardly forgiven. Or forgotten, for that matter.

The Cleveland Guardians were hosting the Texas Rangers for the second game of the series, and the teams were 2-2 entering the seventh. Alejandro Osuna flew out to left on a changeup from Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee. Ingle took an easy catch and completed the second out. Unfortunately, the 24-year-old miscounted and thought it was the end of the inning. He looked around, threw the ball into the stands, and then started jogging toward the infield. 

Bibee was waiting for the ball and reacted in disbelief when he saw Ingle throw it away. It took the rookie defender a moment to realize what he had just done, but there was no coming back. 

According to the MLB rules, putting the ball out of the field immediately marks it as a dead ball. And each runner is awarded two bases. Osuna was out, but Ezequiel Durán was on second base. He reached home, and the Rangers went 3-2. They eventually won the game 4-2.

“Obviously, I feel terrible. It’s a pretty embarrassing feeling,” Ingle said with a red face. “Happens sometimes, but just got to learn from it and not make the same mistake.”

When the camera panned to the manager, he initially had an expression of disappointment. However, he didn’t make a big deal out of it. 

“Rookie. Non-rookie. It’s happened to Hall of Famers. They’ve done it. We’re going to keep learning. We’re going to keep getting better,” Stephen Vogt said after the game.

With that, the clubhouse rallied behind the young left fielder. 

Catcher Austin Hedges told him to keep his chin high, mentioning how he has made many mistakes and probably doesn’t even remember half of them. Even Bibee remained supportive of him. But the fans were a different story entirely. 

Fans didn’t hold back after Cooper Ingle’s costly mistake

For most fans, this was a brain fade moment. While some people mocked the young player, others were a bit irritated that Ingle’s mistake helped the Rangers win the second game and secure the series. 

“Wtf? This guy is a pro baseball player?” wrote one fan. 

Meanwhile, another user took a dig at him, saying, “Guess he thought “out” was just a suggestion, not a rule. Nice try, Cooper.”

The Guardians take pride in their defense and aim for a perfect game with minimal errors. But they have their fair share of mistakes on different occasions. Their four errors in a single game on May 31 forced them to suffer a 9-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox. 

And given that they rank 15th in the league with 0.49 errors per game, blasting a rookie for a single blunder doesn’t seem all that justified. Additionally, he isn’t the first person to make such a blunder either. 

“Bro pulled a Milton Bradley,” one fan nodded towards a past incident. And many others pointed out the same. 

Milton Bradley did the same thing in 2009. He was playing for the Chicago Cubs back then, and after gloving a fly ball, he threw it into the stands as a souvenir. Only then did he realize it was just the second out, and he had inadvertently helped the opposing runners advance two bases.

Another fan took a trip down memory lane, saying, “I think that Guardians witch lady cursed her own team.” 

According to reports, an Ohio woman named Elizabeth tried to perform a ritual in 1984 to end the World Series drought since 1948. However, many believe that she actually made it worse and added to the curse originally left by the once popular manager, Bobby Bragan. 

While there’s little basis for such superstitions, fans often bring them up whenever something inexplicable happens. 

“That is a dfa tomorrow play,” read one comment. 

The team called Ingle up from Triple-A last week, and he made his MLB debut on Friday. He recorded 2 RBIs in 4 games. But people already want to send him back. 

However, his teammates and the Cleveland Guardians coach aren’t losing faith in him so quickly. Instead, they are asking him to move beyond it.