Sometimes, the most wonderful things are stumbled upon by accident. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin when he noticed mold growing in a petri dish. Percy Spencer got the idea for the microwave when he realized a candy bar melted in his pocket while working with radar equipment; and the character of Cliff Clavin on Cheers was invented on the spot when John Ratzenberger realized his audition for Norm wasn’t going very well. (George Wendt, who famously played Norm on Cheers and died earlier today, told that story just last year on a podcast. - RIP George!)
On Tuesday night at Fenway part, a silly baseball version of one of these happy accidents occurred when home plate umpire Mike Estabrook, who was running about as hot as the Hindenburg, escalated a situation that started with his own blown call, and ended with him tossing both Walker Buehler and Alex Cora from the game.