Position Players Pitching

http://media.nbcchicago.com/images/485*306/Adam_Dunn_8-5.jpg http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IDxJUNyFzVA/SeSXIw3vOgI/AAAAAAAACPI/kiD4k3UAPD4/s400/nick_swisher.jpg

non-pitchers with pitching appearances at baseball-reference

the last position players to pitch for each team

celebratory tumblr

Mandatory link.

http://multimedia.detnews.com/pix/9c/db/cc/bb/40/65/20110630000822_2011-0629-rb-tigers-mets678.jpg

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/adam-dunn-as-a-pitcher/

15 this year!

wonder if it's more common in pitcher-dominated eras bc lower score differentials and better bullpens = more extra innings

i'd imagine that modern theories about pitch counts and proper rest play a greater role

also you know adam dunn wanted to get out there -- he had some decent movement on the handful of pitches i saw

btw this is intended to be an ALERT thread such that i don't miss the next adam dunn

a scoreless eighth for jesus sucre

jeff francoeur just threw the phillies' first scoreless inning

jake elmore is faring less well in tampa

wish I was on ILX last may (or June?) to celebrate mike carp's horrendous knuckleballing against the yankees lol

good for frenchie I guess tho

i was hoping we'd get a yankee position player too, oh well

so per the Effectively Wild FB group, yesterday was the first time (since 1914) more than one position player allowed a home run on the same day.

they left frenchy out there for 48 pitches! apparently because the bullpen phone was 'off the hook' ffs

http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/2015-06/16/22/enhanced/webdr10/enhanced-13592-1434508072-1.png

thread is v active

can brendan ryan go two innings y/n

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ClSdm7KUYAAKQBF.jpg

http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Josh+Harrison+Pittsburgh+Pirates+v+Colorado+ILfBOzkIskYl.jpg

erik kratz has now pitched in both leagues this season

Ryan Gions. loaded the bases in the 17th inning – then induced a double play to get out of it.

sorry, 18th

is one position player relieving another something that happens? i know i;ve never seen it before.

ryan lamarre 1.0IP 2H 0ER

Miguel Montero for the Cubs down 13-1

chris Gimenez on clev 2 IP

Jared Hoying, OF for the Rangers, pitched the top of the 9th with Texas down big. Gave up a homer on a 59mph toss

I am not a big baseball guy, so tuning into the end of the Rangers game and seeing this guy I've never heard of pitch @ 60 mph was bizarre, I'm thinking he's a knuckle baller pulled up from the minors, but I'm seeing no movement on the ball whatsoever (I had the TV on mute to listen to coverage of the madness taking place in downtown Dallas, two miles away from me)

Drew Butera again for KC, scoreless inning down 13-0

Jeff Sullivan ‏@based_ball 15m15 minutes ago
since the start of last year position players pitching have a 4.93 ERA in about 46 innings. better than Matt Cain, Joe Kelly, and Ubaldo
10 retweets 15 likes

hernan iribarren pitched the eighth for the louisville bats this afternoon

needed seven pitches to get three outs; one was a 46mph knuckleball

@RhettBollinger
Eduardo Escobar's first pitch was an 88 mph fastball.

tyler holt is the first reds position player to pitch since skip schumaker two years and one day ago

five pitches, three outs

best pitcher on worst staff ever!

does christian bethancourt even count

he's pitching in the fourth inning ffs

he was signed for that reason, so no

whoa this guy's story is cool

has that happened in the modern game? guy pitching and playing the field on a regular basis?

@AJCassavell
No player in MLB history has caught more than 5 games and pitched in more than 5 games in the same season. Christian Bethancourt might.

poor guy was immediately spiked by andrew toles on a play at the plate after his first pitch (a wild one)

michael martinez of the indians last night: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/michael-martinez-pitcher/

Currently Showing
SD & ATL
Reason: Position player pitching (Christian Bethancourt)
Priority #2

what's a higher priority than a position player pitching? no-hitter?

(ian kennedy has a 1-hitter going in the 8th btw)

yeah i have no-hitters in the 7th inning or later higher

3rd string catcher Kevin Plawecki pitching for the Mets today

this is the reverse but the Yankees put pitcher Brian Mitchell at 1b late in today's game...

Miguel Montero on the mound right now for the Cubs vs Yankees

Miguel Montero head hunting with a 80 mph heater 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/r68FZlNIA5

— MLB Memes (@MLBMeme) May 7, 2017

white sox rookie slugger phenom yermin mercedes is pitching against the red sox right now

they're only six runs behind with two innings to go which seems a little early to wave the white flag

maybe they're just trying to find a position for yermin

followed by danny mendick

mercedes was throwing in the 70s-80s, mendick working exclusively in the 60s

gameday had the last mendick pitch at 39.6 mph

they're only six runs behind with two innings to go which seems a little early to wave the white flag

also they have 13 pitchers on the roster

they did play a double-header yesterday tbf

Rizzo struck out Freeman 😭

(via @Cubs)pic.twitter.com/fTVyUPKb4o

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 29, 2021

Marwin Gonzalez coming into a 16-4 affair against the jays.

(16 for the jays obviously)

Just had a 1-2-3 inning!

Arroyo in for the 9th now.

Had the game on the radio driving into Woodstock; heard Teoscar's second HR. Did that ever get out of hand...They really let Ryan Weber take a beating out there (11 runs in 5.2 innings). Guess they had no one left.

I felt seriously bad for the guy. I’m assuming he went in knowing he’d have to go long... but if you’re down to just one RP, why take your SP so early - I don’t think he was injured.

even more brutal is when he's DFA'd tomorrow

Baseball’s Great Debate: Who’s Worse, Pitchers Who Hit, or Hitters Who Pitch?

https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2021/8/6/22612375/pitching-position-players-pitchers-hitting-universal-dh

Arauz in for the Red Sox, down 11-4 to the jays.
And a double header coming up tmrw, in kind of an important series!

Darin Ruf with two scoreless innings out of the bullpen tonight

Reese McGwire in for the BoSox

franmil reyes for the cubs (drilled pujols in the back, lol)

Brandon Crawford! 1 inning, 1 hit, 1 walk, no runs.

Brandon Crawford, 2023 pitching mechanics. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/hFcExcooWR

— kate ⚾️ (@sfgiantskate) June 11, 2023

Nicky Lopez had a great Braves debut. 4 for 6, 3 runs, 5 RBI, and pitched a scoreless 9th. Danny Mendick gave up 8 ER in 1.1 IP for the Mets. Final score 21-3.

brandon crawford makes his pitching debut with two outs in the bottom of the 8th, gets his man

He’s pitched before!

Here is every Brandon Crawford pitch in his first pitching appearance pic.twitter.com/8Wz8eODyA2

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 11, 2023

Listening in the car so didn't see it, but Kyle Farmer pitched two innings in a blowout vs. the Jays. The radio guys said he was throwing 45 m.p.h., and not really even an Eephus pitch, more like a HR-Derby pitch. Gave up five hits, a walk, a HR, and three runs.

(Not a HR--there was some doubt, but ruled a triple.)

Tyler Wade in for the Padres vs the Jays, who are up 12-0. 10 runs in just the last two innings.
op. Make that 13.

Jays backup catcher Tyler Heineman pitched 1.1 innings last night and gave up 13 hits and 10 runs for an ERA of 32.40. I didn't see it. I asked someone who did if he had a smile on his face; "No."

Up front: this is not intended to take anything away from Shohei. Not in the least. I have wondered (and posted on here before) if there were others who might have been great two-way players if they'd been given the chance--if it wasn't such a non-starter for almost 100 years. The first you usually think of is Bob Gibson.

In connection with Judge, there was a mention of Jimmie Foxx I read this morning that got me to look up his BRef page. Something I never knew: 1) he was a star pitcher in high school (not at all unusual), and 2) at the age of 37, pressed into duty because of the war, he pitched 22.2 innings for the Phillies. His line: 13 hits, 14 walks (ouch), 10 K, 1.59 ERA. That's compromised right away because of a war-lightened league, but still, 37! He also pitched a scoreless inning in 1939 for the Red Sox. My mental picture of Jimmie Foxx is not of someone who looked especially athletic, but maybe there was a great pitcher there, I don't know.

Brandon Belt was a star pitcher in high school in his part of Texas along with Clayton Kershaw and was considered the better pitcher at that age (!)

Now that is impressive (the Jays should have been pitching him...). I think there are probably dozens of position guys playing right now who were star pitchers in high school, and probably dozens of pitchers right now who were the best hitters on their high school team. I've read variations on the idea that the a lot of major leaguers were the best everything on their high school teams--so with Foxx, I don't much much stock in that in and of itself.

"put" much stock...

Olerud is another guy that comes to mind who was a pitcher before being drafted

Hunter Greene was also a stud two way player

"As a sophomore in 1988, he had arguably the best season all-time for a two-way college baseball player. As a pitcher, he went 15-0 with a 2.49 ERA over 122 2/3 innings. He recorded 113 strikeouts and just 39 walks. At the plate, he batted .464 with 23 home runs and 81 RBIs."

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/john-olerud/

(xpost)

I wish Michael Lorenzen kept at it

guessing that anyone with the arm to play big-league C, or SS, or RF (at the very least) was probably an incredible high school pitcher

well, except for johnny damon

Dave Stieb was a RF when the jays drafted him and they immediately converted him to a pitcher iirc

i know i've harped on this for 20+ years now but, like, yes MLB ballplayers are faster and stronger than you or me . . . but i am endlessly amazed by how much harder they can throw. it's a leap that i find incomprehensible, never moreso than now

Every star high school pitcher was a great hitter too. I'm not sure if Ohtani has broken down any doors though, his situation was really unique in that he was able to bet on himself at a young age with a lot to gain and not all that much to lose. He also had the balls to jump to MLB when he was young and forego all the usual posting rules. But the worst case (short of a career ending injury), is that he doesn't cut it in MLB and heads back to Japan, basically ending up where he would have been anyway, still young enough to be a great player and find his way back to MLB later on. Whereas the best case scenario is ... what actually happened.

The college and minor league system in the Americas won't let you write your own ticket like that. They'll all tell you that if your *best* chance of reaching the big leagues is to focus on either pitching or hitting, and it's undoubtedly true, you can't argue with it.

the greinke oral histories keep mentioning how much a fan he was of hitting

I do have a few go-to pre-WWII hitters that pitched for a few years, that are really useful for immaculate grid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-Z1qqSKXb0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBTc2tLX4FM

94.8mph @ 48yo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oKgyKkPwLg

that's fake / an ad xp

this on the other hand is 100% real

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KDW0LxXSVQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81SSANPrAN0

This tripped me out when I saw it live, coming back from the commercial, it was like Gearrin teleported to the outfield

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19lG-gHp_U0