Orioles' Colton Cowser 'Yeets' Craig Kimbrel's Historic Ball Into The Stands, Fortunately Gets It Back

Craig Kimbrel recorded a historic save against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night, and right fielder Colton Cowser nearly lost the ball he used to do it.

It was the bottom of the ninth inning on Saturday night, and the Baltimore Orioles sent in their closer to protect a 9-7 lead. Facing legendary catcher Salvador Perez, Kimbrel needed one more out to get the save and the win for his ball club.

After falling behind 2-0 in the count, he got Perez to line out to left fielder Colton Cowser. The save was historic, it was Kimbrel’s 422nd of his career and vaulted him into a tie with Billy Wagner for the seventh most all time.

However, Cowser was unaware of that historical feat after recording the final out, so when he caught the ball, he chucked it into the stands.

"I just yeeted it behind me," the 24-year-old outfielder said.

Immediately after his "yeet," he knew he had committed a mistake.

"Right when I threw it, I said, ‘Craig has a lot of saves, that one might have been important,’" Cowser said. "I literally told [center fielder Cedric Mullins] right whenever, ‘I might have messed up.’ And it turns out I did. We got the ball back, though."

The ball landed in the Kauffman Stadium fountains, and it sank roughly two minutes after hitting the water. Later on, they found the ball in question and he got it back to Kimbrel.

Colton Cowser #17 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates with teammates after the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 14, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

Fortunately, the reliever wasn’t upset in the slightest about his teammate’s oversight.

"It's fine, it doesn't bother me none. We'll see what the authenticators think when we talk to them here in a little bit," Kmibrel said. "There was some hurt, I could tell that he was a little distraught about it, and I told him not to worry about it too much and not to lose sleep."

Cowser said that he learned his lesson and will avoid anymore "yeets" as the season progresses.

"Every time I catch the ball and it’s a last out from him now, it’s staying in the glove," Cowser said.