On July 15, 1969, with President Richard Nixon attending the game in Washington, Wert started a triple play on a ground ball hit by Ed Brinkman. On July 9, 1970, Wert was involved in a bizarre play when Dalton Jones hit a fly ball into the upper deck with the bases loaded. What should have been a grand slam ended up being a three-RBI single, as Jones passed Wert between first and second base. Jones was called out. Jones later blamed Wert, noting that Wert should have been halfway to second base, prepared to advance if it was a home run, and prepared to return to first if it was caught. Instead, Jones recalled that Wert was returning to first to tag up, and Jones passed Wert just 1 or 2 steps past first base.