We’ve never been more dependent on technology than we are now.
It’s become almost alarming how wedded we are to our phones, in particular.
Watch the bizarre moment in the video above
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On Wednesday, Pittsburgh Pirates MBL baseballer Rodolfo Castro took it to a new level – albeit inadvertently.
He not only brought his phone out onto the field, but was left red-faced when it spilled out onto the ground during a dive for third base.
At the top of the fourth inning, Castro got on base by drawing a walk, before eventually advancing to third.
Castro raced towards third as a throw came in from the outfield and, as he dived across the dirt to make his ground, his phone was dislodged from his back pocket and fell onto the ground.
A baffled third-base umpire, Adam Hamari, immediately spotted the phone and pointed it out to the oblivious Castro, who had bounced up after the slide.
An embarrassed Castro then quickly picked it up and handed it to Pirates third-base coach Mike Rebelo, who could hardly believe what he was being given by the player.
The moment was not only embarrassing, but in fact rule-violating.
The MLB is investigating the incident, which could land the 23-year-old in hot water.
MLB rules prohibit electronic devices on the field or in the dugout.
Through an interpreter, the Dominican baseballer said it was completely accidental.
“I don’t think there’s any professional ballplayer that would ever go out there with any intentions of taking a cellphone,” he told reporters.
“It’s horrible it happened to me. Obviously, it was very unintentional.”
To make matters worse, Castro had only just been called up into the side from the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians before the game – all the more reason for his embarrassment.
“My first day back, if I was to be the center of attention, I would want it to be helping the team win, but never in this form,” Castro said.
“This is definitely something that was an accident, a mistake, something I’m going to learn from. But definitely something I didn’t mean to happen.”
The Pirates lost the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-4.
Castro was 0/3 with the bat in the game, including the walk. In his 22 games this season, he is hitting .189, has one home run, and four runs batted in.
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