Position Players Pitching

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

— MLB Memes (@MLBMeme) May 7, 2017

Position-player pitching alert: catcher Chris Gimenez making his third relief appearance this season. Twins down 15-6 in the ninth.

— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) May 31, 2017

http://deadspin.com/let-us-all-marvel-at-andres-blanco-s-70-mph-fastballs-1795923120

chuey

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-era-of-position-players-pitching

a scoreless ninth (one hit) for jon jay

http://www.cubshq.com/update/WATCH-Jon-Jay-pitches-a-scoreless-9th-inning-23057

He retired three of the four batters that he faced in the scoreless inning and he was clocked at 46-65 mph on his pitches.

It's that easy huh @jonjayU

— Brett Anderson (@BAnderson3737) July 6, 2017

hernan perez is on for the eighth with nats looking at history

he knew to point to the sky on a fly ball, nice

Welcome back. We are monitoring events in the Detroit/Pittsburgh game this afternoon.

— Pos Players Pitching (@70MPHFastball) March 30, 2018

is tyler glasnow the last pirates bullpen member who hasn't pitched, after brault?

Sandoval with the 1-2-3 inning.

Pablo Sandoval with the 69mph Curveball.

What. pic.twitter.com/I7hr5y8ktG

— Pitcher List (@PitcherList) April 28, 2018

greg garcia (cardinals utility guy) threw a scoreless 8th inning last night - 1 hit and a double play

chris gimenez for the cubs ... they're only 6 runs behind in the eighth, feels a little premature

Matt Davidson, Filthy 79mph Slider....and then reminding himself to slow strut off the field... 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZKg7XrNQgB

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 30, 2018

The Diamondbacks used two position players in relief in their 19-2 loss to the Rockies ... in fact they pitched more total innings than the actual pitchers did (3.1 IP for the real pitchers, 4.2 IP in relief for the position players).

http://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=380711127

they also . . . used a pitcher as a pinch hitter in the second inning, when they were only down 5-1

Alex Blandino, Filthy 67 mph Knuckle Ball. 🦋 pic.twitter.com/ivFAvcv7YQ

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 12, 2018

icymi

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/descalso-and-avila-hurl-their-way-into-weird-history/

Our Willians: not so good on the mound

tommy la stella comes on in the sixth

and gets the out with one pitch

backup catcher caratini is pitching now. first time the cubs have used two position players in the same game since 1907

the crowd is going wild

#Cubs (La Stella, Caratini & Happ): first team to use 3 position player pitchers in a game since the Brewers 8/29/1979 (Sal Bando, Jim Gantner & Buck Martinez)

— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) July 20, 2018

i think ive read more about that Sal Bando game this month than i did in '79

if my calculations are correct, you'd have been pretty busy when that game happened

lol

https://deadspin.com/hernan-perez-plunked-a-batter-with-the-softest-pitch-yo-1827798463

if you can't dodge a 48 mph pitch you shouldn't get the base

Kristopher Negron can do it all.

(Yes, this was an out)
(No, he did not allow any runs)
(No, he did not break 55 MPH) pic.twitter.com/IrIevQupmx

— Reno Aces (@Aces) July 22, 2018

Anthony Rizzo pitched and recorded an out in a 7-1 game last night.

I know that position players pitching is kind of a trend now, but do you really want your superstar hitters doing it?

Maybe everyone wants to channel their inner Ohtani these days?

First-time pitcher Kike Hernandez yielded a game-winning HR to the Phils' Trevor Plouffe in the 16th last night.

Yeah, it's getting out of hand now. The Jays punted a game in similar fashion last year too.

I'm assuming that Roberts merely pulled the strings that the Dodgers analytics department told him to pull. So their data shows that it's better to blow a game now than pitch the next day's starter in the 16th and risk an injury (and future wins)?

probably depends on schedule/geography/roster composition as well -- dodgers have a day game today and couldn't get anyone up from the minors (in oklahoma) in time to help. and they may or may not have the ability to option players *to* the minors in exchange without further repercussions.

but yeah

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/texas-rangers/rangers/2018/07/23/carlos-tocci-ryan-rua-become-first-pair-rangers-position-players-ever-pitch-game

https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2018/7/25/17612220/joe-maddon-cubs-position-players-pitching-as-rangers-comeback

All I could think about is that beneath the fun, hip exoskeleton, Joe Maddon is a soulless actuary.

BREAKING: Grant Brisbee describes Joe Maddon as "fun, hip"

that's on the managerial curve, where Buck Showalter is the baseline

icymi, the Rays used Sergio Romo at 3b for one out in a Waxahachie Swap

re the increase in position players pitching, it seems like people are freaking out about this because it's a direct acknowledgment that a team is giving up on a game? on the other hand, if your team is losing badly, at least watching a position player try to pitch adds some entertainment value and something to root for

It was done by a manager with a big lead recently, right?

that doesn't sound like Respect for the Game

Inauspicious debut for Jose Reyes:

1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 2 HR, 6 ER, 48 pitches (29 strikes), 54.00 ERA

Makes me wonder get the record is for most pitches thrown in a game by a position player. Ouch!

typos there but hopefully the meaning comes through (new profile description)

uh, i only just now realized that we all have profiles (accessible by clicking the username), and updated accordingly.

maybe i did know that we had profiles (i must have clicked them to send ilxmail...right?), but somehow it escaped me that you could edit the information in them, or that it was a thing to look at

re the increase in position players pitching, it seems like people are freaking out about this because it's a direct acknowledgment that a team is giving up on a game?

For me it's mostly about the injury risk. If Rizzo had gotten hurt in that game he pitched, how do you justify losing your All-Star first baseman over something so stupid?

There's also the inherent ridiculousness of carrying 12 pitchers and still not having enough of them to throw some mop-up innings in a blowout.

James tweeted about this last week:

"The surge in the # of position players pitching is a signal that the 100-year trend toward more frequent pitching changes has finally reached a limit within the 25-man roster. The worst mistake that baseball could make would be to expand rosters and allow that trend to resume."

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.