Brad Komminsk was so excited to rob Cal Ripken's home run, he flipped right over the wall

No matter how long you've been in the big leagues, playing on the same field as Cal Ripken Jr. has to be pretty cool. He's Cal Ripken -- imagine playing guitar with Hendrix, or cooking for Mario Batali. But why merely play against Cal Ripken Jr. when you can rob him of a home run? Why simply jam with Hendrix when you can beat him mercilessly in Guitar Hero?

Tortured metaphors aside, what we're trying to say is it's understandable that Cleveland center fielder Brad Komminsk's eyes lit up when Ripken sent a deep fly ball his way during the Indians-Orioles game on Sept. 5, 1989. Komminsk got a beat on it, covered a ton of ground, timed his jump ... and was so intent on making a spectacular catch that he was totally oblivious to the whole "giant wall" concept:

While we certainly award an A+ for effort, the rulebook is telling us that that is sadly not a catch -- though we're sure the baseball appreciates the escort over the fence.