12 times Major Leaguers briefly forgot to do something important

During Sunday's Cubs-Rockies game, the Rockies' defense forgot to cover home plate after successfully fielding a popup, allowing Anthony Rizzo to casually score a run.

Fortunately, the Rockies shrugged it off and won the game, 11-4. Hey, people make mistakes and sometimes athletes at all levels forget what exactly it was they were supposed do in a given moment. Here are 12 more moments when MLB players seem to have experienced short bursts of memory loss.
1.Joel Peralta has a wardrobe malfunction
Not every slip-up is play-related. In May, then-Mariners reliever Joel Peralta accidentally wore his road grays when everyone else on the team was wearing blue. Luckily, a ball boy ran out to the bullpen to give him the correct jersey:

2. Chris Davis forgets the count
Every so often, someone on the field loses track of balls and strikes. But when Chris Davis tried to walk on ball three back in July, he also got Manny Machado picked off:

3. Gio González pitches from the stretch … with no runners on base
As you can see from the example above, unexpected pickoffs are extremely satisfying. Too bad that in October of last year, Gio Gonzalez forgot that if you want to pick someone off, you need to have someone on base:

4. The grounds crew leaves a ladder on the field
Sometimes, a park's staff can be forgetful too. Back in April, 2015, the grounds crew at Red Sox Spring Training home JetBlue Park left a ladder against the scoreboard, briefly delaying play. Good thing Oswaldo Arcía was there to help:

5. Steve Lyons forgets he's in a public place
During a White Sox-Tigers game in July, 1990, Steve Lyons laid down a bunt and slid into first base, in the process getting some dirt down his pants. He tried to address that problem, but seemed to forget that MLB is supposed to be a family show:

"As soon as I realized that I was still out at first base and not down in the dugout, there was a little bit of shock," Lyons told MLB.com's Doug Miller. 
6. Robinson Canó thinks the bases are loaded … but guess what?
They weren't! During a Mariners-Dodgers game in April of last season Robinson Cano tried to stroll home from third base after Logan Morrison drew a walk. The problem was that first base was empty:

7. Mallex Smith is out on an appeal play
In a game against the Cubs in June, Mallex Smith forgot to re-touch second base after Ender Inciarte's sac fly. He stepped over the bag on his way back to first, and it resulted in a pretty smooth out for Chicago.
"I don't think I've ever seen that before," said Joe Maddon.

8. Tyler Duffey forgets his passport
Just because it didn't happen in a ballpark doesn't mean it doesn't count. In August 2015, the Twins' Tyler Duffey got called up to the big league club. The only problem was that they were playing in Toronto, and he forgot his passport:

9. The Philles bullpen leaves the phone off the hook
You may remember that time in June of last year when Jeff Francoeur pitched two full innings in the Phillies' eventual 19-3 loss to the Orioles. But then-manager Ryne Sandberg didn't leave him in that long because he forgot Frenchy wasn't a pitcher by trade -- he left him in because he couldn't reach the bullpen. Why? They forgot to hang up their phone:

10. Adrián Beltré forgets a rule change
In 2015, MLB implemented new pace-of-play rules. One stated that a hitter must not leave the batter's box after taking a pitch. Adrian Beltre forgot about the new rule during an April 2015 game against the A's, but don't worry -- he remembered it pretty quickly:

11. Craig Lefferts leaves the bullpen door open
Sometimes, you leave your garage door open and raccoons get in. Sometimes, you're former Giants reliever Craig Lefferts, and you leave the bullpen door open during a June 1989 game against the Cubs, and a fair ball gets in.

12. Clayton Kershaw leaves his bat behind
Ever close your front door only to immediately open it again after you realize you left your keys inside? That's probably how Clayton Kershaw felt when he walked into the on-deck circle during a 2014 game against the Nationals without his bat: