Cardinals minor leaguer has embarrassing home run trot on flyout

A St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguer had a pretty embarrassing moment Thursday night on what he thought was a long home run.

Infielder Delvin Perez, playing for the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, hit a long fly ball to left field during Thursday’s game against the Gwinnett Stripers. While it looked like a clear home run off the bat, a strong wind blowing in knocked the ball down and turned it into a fairly routine flyout.

Unfortunately, Perez did not notice that last part. He flipped his bat, put his head down, and went into his home run trot. It wasn’t until he rounded third base that he noticed he didn’t actually have a home run.

Perez can take solace in the fact that this even happens to established Major Leaguers. That probably doesn’t make it any less embarrassing. At least the ball was caught instead of getting down for a hit, which might have resulted in an even more embarrassing single.

Unfortunately for Perez, he doesn’t get many opportunities to celebrate home runs. He has just 11 in six minor league seasons, though five of them have come in 2022.