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It happened in 1899. Unless it was 1895. Mike Grady was playing third base for the New York Giants when he committed five errors on a single play. Or maybe it was six? Nobody was really sure. But for more than 100 years, Mike Grady was believed to hold the Major League record for the most errors on a single play by a single player. In 2012, baseball historian Bill Deane debunked the whole thing. Grady’s five — or six — error play never happened. As it turns out, the real story of the actual MLB record for most errors on a single play by a single player is a lot more recent.

"I took pride on my defensive abilities. I could still field." Tommy John

In the summer of 1988, 45-year-old Yankees starting pitcher Tommy John was in his 25th season as a Major Leaguer. "But I could still pitch," Tommy says. "I could compete. I could hold my own." And there was another thing Tommy was proud of. "I took pride on my defensive abilities," he says. "I could still field." Tommy John (Ron Frehm/AP) On July 27th of that year, Tommy got the start against the Milwaukee Brewers in Yankee Stadium. In the top of the fourth, Tommy and the Yankees were up 4-0. "Well, I had good stuff," he recalls. "I had good ball movement. I'm cruising right along." But with one out, Tommy walked Milwaukee second baseman Jim Gantner. Jeffrey Leonard came to the plate. "He hit a ball off the end of the bat," Tommy says. "And he hit a little squirter down the first base line." Tommy charged the ball. "And I made my first mistake by saying to myself, when I saw the ball, 'I'm gonna barehand it.' " Tommy says that, in his long Major League career, he almost never barehanded ground balls. He was a glove guy all the way. The little voice in his head knew that. “ 'No, I … no. I shouldn't do it. No. Oh … ' ” he remembers thinking. The problem was that he didn’t listen to that voice. "And I picked the ball up and dropped it," he says. And you can score that: “Error charged to the pitcher.” Gantner was now on his way to second. And Leonard was hustling up the line. "I should have taken a bite out of the ball and gone back to the mound and had runners on first and second," Tommy says. But Tommy thought he still had time to get Leonard out at first. "And I turned, and I threw it to first base," Tommy says. "And I didn't have a good grip on the ball. And I threw it about 10 feet wide of Mattingly at first base. "Well, that's my second mistake." The ball had caromed off the ball boy sitting along the right field line. Now Gantner was on his way to third, with Jeffrey Leonard not far behind. The Brewers third base coach waved Gantner around. "Then it's rolling down the right field line," Tommy says. "And Dave Winfield never backs a play up. But he backs this play up. He picks the ball up, and he throws it home." The right fielder’s throw appeared to be on target to the waiting glove of the Yankees’ catcher.

"Oh, no. That was my third error." Tommy John