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What is the MLB record for most errors committed by a single player on a single play?

I wondered about this today, when Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford was charged with two errors on the same play in the second inning. (With a runner at second, Crawford booted a ground ball, then threw wildly to first, allowing the runner from second to score.) I imagine this must happen with some regularity, but I had never seen it before.

This article reports that Tommy John committed three errors on one play in a game in 1988. The story suggests that at the time, this tied the record for pitchers, but does not address other positions or whether this dubious record has since been broken.

Has any player ever been charged with four or more errors on the same play?

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This Yahoo! Sports page contains the quote

Three errors charged on one play, which by all accounts ties a major league record.

The Wikipedia page List of Major League Baseball single-game records claims that there are four instances of three (team) errors on one play, of which I can find three:

Assuming that in the fourth instance the errors were not all committed by one player (which is implied by the various reports on Tommy John's play), this would leave Tommy John as the holder of this dubious record.

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The record is actually 4 errors one one play - by one player! Committed by a Giants 3rd baseman named Mike Grady in 1899. The specifics of fhd unfortunate play are explained right here: http://phillysportshistory.com/2011/05/15/grady-commits-4-errors-in-one-play-then-saves-women-and-children-from-deadly-fire/

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    Links can disappear, so could you add a brief description of the errors in your answer please?
    – TrueDub
    Apr 1, 2016 at 10:11
  • This is interesting, but it would be great if there were records to support it. So far I haven't found box scores from 1899.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Apr 1, 2016 at 22:02
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    Looks like books.google.com/… tends to dispute this happening, at least with the details largely held.
    – JeopardyTempest
    Apr 7, 2016 at 21:11

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