Outside The Confines: On that one hilarious Twins moment

All too often the lead story of links is something negative, a bad injury, a scandal, some kind of situation that makes us wonder “what the heck is going on with baseball?” Today I will be bringing you a story that might make you scratch your head in wonder, but it will also make you giggle, and at the end of the day, sometimes that’s what we need mid-week.

In Monday’s Twins game against the Orioles, Twins outfielder Rob Refsnyder was a little too focused as he aimed to make a catch, and, well...

The situation was made all the better by the Orioles’ ground crew paying homage to Refsnyder on Tuesday.

It might just be a blooper, but obviously, folks were talking about it, so here are some story highlights from the moment.

• Dan Gartland called the play an “all-time great sports blooper.”
• Ed Mazza of HuffPo used similarly hyperbolic phrasing.
• Michael Cerami focused instead on the hijinks of the O’s grounds crew.

And now onto the rest of the stories from this week.

• The other major story of this week so far, and a far more upsetting one, is the Marcell Ozuna situation in Atlanta. Jack Baer at Yahoo breaks down the situation and the alleged threats Ozuna made to his wife.
• AP reports on Ozuna’s release on $20,000 bail.
• Taking a contractual approach, Ken Rosenthal does not believe the Braves can void Ozuna’s contract after the incident. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Unfortunately, the bad stories don’t end there, as the Blue Jays investigate more reports on Roberto Alomar, shares Nick Selbe.
• Ben Clemens might have spoken too soon in this piece but he points out how up to this point is seemed like the Yankees can’t catch a break.
• A different Ben, this time Ben Lindbergh, sings the praises of Shohei Ohtani and wonders if perhaps we aren’t as impressed as we should be.
• Jeff Passan is definitely appreciating Ohtani as he spotlights the two-way player in his list of May high points.
• Do you love iconic ejections? Anthony Castrovince remembers the 2007 Phillip Wellman ejection in all its glory.
• RIP Mike Marshall.

• Emma Baccellieri looks at 2021 as the year of the pitcher.
• On that same topic, Eno Sarris wants to know what role the ball itself is playing in the pitchers and all the no-hitters this season. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Ryan Zimmerman gives some insider scoop on life inside the Nationals clubhouse. Story by Chris Lingebach, in conjunction with the Sports Junkies show.
• MLB is making its first NFT with the iconic Lou Gehrig moment, shares Ken Davidoff. And if you don’t understand NFTs, that’s okay, don’t put too much effort into finding out, it will only annoy you.
• In non-NFT Lou Gehrig news, MLB is preparing for its first Lou Gehrig day, which takes place today, shares Anthony Castrovince.
• Paul Casella reports that the San Francisco Giants will be the first MLB team to wear Pride colors. The colors will be incorporated into the existing uniform in the form of a patch.
• Kevin Goldstein reminds us that the trade deadline is sneaking up, and now is the time for teams to start politely exploring their options.
• Anthony Franco reports that MLB will be reinstating a pitcher limit for teams in 2022.
• If you’re interested in Olympic baseball, David Schoenfield has everything you need to know about the qualifiers.
• Stephen J. Nesbitt gives us an all in the family quiz about baseball sons and fathers. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• The support group meets Wednesday.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.