Baltimore Orioles Rookie Makes Hilarious Mistake With Milestone Ball

Baltimore Orioles rookie Colton Cowser nearly lost Craig Kimbrel's milestone ball.

Apr 13, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser (17) catches a ball. | Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday's game almost got away from the Baltimore Orioles.

Despite taking a 7-0 lead with ace Corbin Burnes on the mound, they let the Kansas City Royals claw back and make it a one-run game.

The Orioles took a 9-7 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but the situation was still precarious with the Royals' 2-through-4 hitters coming up. Fortunately for Baltimore, they have the perfect reliever for such a tight spot.

Craig Kimbrel came trotting in from the bullpen, and before long, the game was over.

He retired Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez in order, nailing down the win for the Orioles.

It was a big save for Kimbrel, his fifth of the season and the 422nd of his career, tying him with Hall of Fame candidate Billy Wagner for the seventh-most in MLB history.

Unfortunately for Kimbrel, one of his teammates didn't realize that.

Baltimore's rookie outfielder Colton Cowser, who caught Perez's fly ball to end the game, promptly turned around and fired it into the fountains beyond the outfield wall at Kauffman Stadium.

Colton Cowser tossed the ball from the final out into the fountain.

“I just yeeted it.”

The problem: it was Craig Kimbrel’s 422nd career save, tying him with Billy Wagner at 7th all-time.

Cowser had to go back and ask someone to retrieve it from the fountain.

— Paul Mancano (@PaulMancano) April 21, 2024

Once Cowser realized that he'd accidentally thrown away a piece of baseball history, he had to go back and ask a ballpark employee to help retrieve it from the bottom of the fountain.

Kimbrel got his milestone ball after all -- it was just a little soggier than expected.

Chalk it up as a rookie mistake for the 24-year-old Cowser, who's only played in 45 MLB games so far and is still settling in.

Being a rookie is all about making mistakes and learning from them, so hopefully Cowser learned his lesson here.