Michael Morse once hit a home run with the MLB invisible bat. It is one of the most unique plays in baseball history. Rarely does a hitter ever take a swing without a bat, let alone hit a home run in that fashion. Yet, in 2012, the Washington Nationals slugger did the impossible.

Not only did Michael Morse hit an invisible bat home run, it was a grand slam! During the first inning, Morse stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and proceeded to hit the ball (with his bat) off the fence.

The umpires signaled that the ball was in play, which meant all runners had to advance. As a result, Morse was tagged out.

'; }); pollOptions.innerHTML = pollOptionsDom; pollCount.innerHTML = totalVotes + ' votes'; if (totalVotes > 10) { pollCount.classList.remove("hidden"); } } function trackBetsTodayPollImpression() { var intersectionObserverForArticlePoll = new IntersectionObserver( function(entries) { entries.forEach(function(entry) { var pollId = entry.target.getAttribute("data-poll-id"); if (POLLS_BY_ID[pollId]['impression_tracked']) return; if (!entry.target || !entry.isIntersecting || entry.intersectionRatio < 0.5) return; setTimeout(function() { if (isInViewport(entry.target)) { POLLS_BY_ID[pollId]['impression_tracked'] = true; var isDesktop = "1"; var gaPayload = { "question" : POLLS_BY_ID[pollId]['question'], "category": "Baseball", "page_url": window.location.href, "option1": POLLS_BY_ID[pollId]['option1'], "option2": POLLS_BY_ID[pollId]['option2'], } if (isDesktop) { gaPayload["device"] = "Desktop"; } else { gaPayload["device"] = "Mobile"; } gtag("event", "BETS_TODAY_POLL_IMPRESSION", gaPayload); intersectionObserverForArticlePoll.unobserve(entry.target); } }, 1000); }); }, { threshold: 0.5 } ); var pollElements = document.querySelectorAll('.bets-today-poll'); pollElements.forEach(function(pollElement) { var isAnswered = pollElement.querySelector(".poll-option-answered"); if (!isAnswered) { intersectionObserverForArticlePoll.observe(pollElement); } }) } return { answerPollX: answerPollX, }; }(); youtube-cover

Umpires got together and reviewed the play and determined that it had hit the back wall of Busch Stadium, which is a home run. Some parks have unique in-play rules, and Busch Stadium's set of rules triggered one of the strangest plays in MLB history.

The umpires determined that they'd made a mistake and signaled for a home run, but made all the runners return to their bases. They also made Morse step back into the batter's box.

Morse was asked to swing the bat again, which is when he used the MLB invisible bat for the first time in history.

MLB invisible bat: Michael Morse hit the strangest home run in baseball history

The announcers, who loved every second of the play, made it fun for all watching at home, saying via USA Today:

"There it goes. Right field, it is deep! SEE. YOU. LATER. Grand Slam, the Nationals are on top by four."

While Morse's invisible bat grand slam eventually got washed away in the St. Louis Cardinals comeback (the Nationals won in extras), it's still one of the strangest plays in baseball history.

Michael Morse in 2012
Michael Morse in 2012

It is extremely difficult to hit a baseball, which is why even major league stars struggle to do so.

They have the added bonus of swinging a legitimate bat, so Morse's grand slam which technically occurred with an invisible baseball bat, is incredibly impressive.

It's possible that a scenario like this will never occur again.

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