In 1993, a fly ball striking Jose Canseco on the head and bouncing over the wall for a home run became a memorable moment in baseball history. It set the standard for weird and comical baseball moments. Fast forward to today, another moment happened which added to the long history of ridiculous outfield moments in baseball. This was during the rivalry game between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. The Giants were leading the game with 5-1 in the top of the eighth inning, and the game felt all but decided. Nobody expected the moment of sheer comedy that was about to unfold.

The strange sequence started with Tyler Fitzgerald of the Giants. His last home run was back in April, and he was still on a drought stretch. A’s Michael Kelly was pitching with a rotating sweeper at 82.6 mph, and Fitzgerald made contact. At a 97.5 mph exit velocity, the ball sailed toward left field. A’s outfielder Tyler Soderstrom tracked it to the warning track and jumped precisely as timed. For a second, it looked like a potential home run robbery. But the ball collided with Soderstrom’s glove and then popped straight into the air, and tumbled over the wall for a home run.

The long-term impact the play would have was easy to foresee. The X account of Major League Baseball was quick to spot it. The league shared a video of the improbable home run the very next day, accompanied by an understated caption that captured the moment’s pure absurdity. “Here’s something you don’t see every day😯.” That single post was enough to set the internet ablaze. The play became an instant meme.

This single, comical play was more than a blooper; it was a mirror reflecting the current state of two franchises, and fans online had plenty to say about it.

Internet reacts: A symphony of memes and disbelief to A’s star

The most immediate and widespread reaction from fans was a trip down memory lane. The play was so reminiscent of another infamous outfield blunder that the comparison became instant shorthand.

This comment instantly connected Soderstrom’s error to the legendary May 26, 1993, miscue. On that day, slugger Canseco had a fly ball bounce directly off his head and over the wall for a home run. The parallels were undeniable. Both plays involved powerful hitters miscast in the outfield. Both occurred on the warning track. And both turned a routine fly ball into a home run.

While some fans focused on the fielder, others couldn’t help but marvel at the batter’s incredible luck. “Fitz using devil magic to try and hold a roster spot smh,” said one fan. This humorous take was rooted in Fitzgerald’s bizarre season. He had been mired in a brutal slump, going 142 at-bats without a home run since April. To break that streak on a gifted “glove-rattler” felt like a cosmic joke. This wasn’t his first strange encounter, either. He has a documented history of oddball hits, including two inside-the-park homers on the exact same date in consecutive years.

For A’s fans, it was a painful moment, especially when contrasted with the defensive genius another one of their young outfielders displayed earlier in the season. One fan summed up this, “Reverse Denzel Clarke.” This witty comment is a direct callback to June 10, 2025. On that night, A’s outfielder Denzel Clarke made a jaw-dropping, home run-robbing catch against the Angels that became an instant ESPN highlight. Clarke’s play was the peak of athletic brilliance. Soderstrom’s error was its polar opposite

Of course, in the modern era of sports betting, some reactions took a darker, more humorous turn. This cynical corner of the internet was represented by one fan, “He did that shit on purpose check his bookie.” To be clear, there is zero evidence of any wrongdoing by Soderstrom. This type of comment is pure hyperbole, born from the sheer absurdity of the moment.

For loyal supporters of the Athletics, that instant encapsulated a lot more than an error. “If a replay summed up the A’s as an organization…” Such sentiments have certainly struck a chord. It goes deeper than the team’s dismal performance or their league-worst 5.30 ERA. It has everything to do with the chaos away from the diamond: the misplaced focus on relocating to a minor league stadium in Sacramento, the widely despised owner John Fisher, and the impending move to Las Vegas, which has turned away the fan base.