Orioles' Leody Taveras suffers most embarrassing strikeout of the pitch clock era against his former team

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Not all strikeouts are created equal, and nothing may exemplify that more than the punch-out Baltimore Orioles center fielder Leody Taveras endured against the Seattle Mariners.

Taveras, who played 28 games for Seattle a season ago, was Baltimore's leadoff man in the bottom of the ninth with his club trailing 4-2 at home. In a spot where he could have jump-started a comeback, he instead struck out in what very well could be the most embarrassing fashion possible of the modern era.

Sitting on a 2-2 count, Taveras took a pitch well outside and began walking to first base, thinking he had just been walked. He even began taking off his elbow guard before realizing that he had the pitch count wrong.

Leody Taveras #30 of the Baltimore Orioles reacts after striking out against the Detroit Tigers during game two of a double header at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 24, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) (G Fiume/Getty Images)

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Unfortunately for him, that's not the most embarrassing part of the at-bat.

With the pitch clock immediately restarting after the pitch, and Taveras wasting a few precious seconds to adjust his equipment and eventually step back into the batter's box, he didn't realize the clock was ticking. This led to a full-count strikeout in the bottom of the ninth on a pitch clock violation.

Brutal is an appropriate word to describe the sequence at the dish.

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That's a mistake that simply