Rarest sight in baseball?

Thanks to Retrosheet, here's a pretty rare feat: the mid-play pinch runner.

It's only happened twice in baseball, according to the Web site.


9/7/1977 (Brewers at Angels) - In the bottom of the 6th, Bobby Bonds was on 2nd base with one out and attempted a steal of third. Catcher Charlie Moore's throw hit Bonds in the head, sending him to the hospital. The ball ricocheted out of play, but Bonds couldn't make the trip home. Instead, substitute runner Gary Nolan (a pitcher) scored the run instead.

9/14/2005 (Red Sox at Blue Jays) - In the top of the 5th, Gabe Kapler was on first when Tony Graffanino hit a deep fly ball near the line in left that Kapler thought might be in play, so he started running hard. As he rounded second base, he ruptured his left Achilles tendon and sprawled on to ground. The ball went over the fence for a homer, but Graffanino wisely stopped at second base while Kapler was attended to. After many minutes, Kapler was loaded onto a cart and taken off the field. Alejandro Machado, appearing in his 4th Major League game, entered as a pinch-runner and scored his first Major League run in front of Graffanino.

 

I always get a kick out of position players being used as pitchers late in blowouts.

These position players had 3 or more pitching appearances in their careers (I'm figuring if they had 10 or more apperances, they were considered a "regular" emergency pitcher):

Roger Bresnahan (1366 games, 9 pitching)
Ty Cobb (2951-3)
Doug Dascenzo (460-4)
Gary Gaetti (2498-3)
Granny Hamner (1533-7)
Vance Law (1273-7)
Jose Oquendo (1158-3)
Sam Rice (2270-9)

Also: On Aug. 29, 1979, the Kansas City Royals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 18-8. Among the Milwaukee pitchers were:

Sal Bando (3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER)
Jim Gantner (1 IP, 2 H, 0 R)
Buck Martinez (1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB).

The "real" pitchers gave up 15 ER and 13 H in 3+ IP. (Courtesy Retrosheet.)

 

Actually, Sterling can clearly be heard as the "voice of reason" in the Waldman-Clemens clip: "Well, I don't think he'll be ready to pitch right away."

Apparently the universe imploded at that moment and we've just been imagining everything since.

 

A playoff game in Kansas City.

 

Leo Mazzone sitting still.

 

Prince Fielder hitting an inside-the-park home run.

Oh, wait.

 

Not that it counts because it was spring training, but that happened again this past spring in a White Sox-Brewers game in Tucson. Can't remember the name, but a White Sox player hit a home run and pulled a calf muscle rounding first. Pinch runner finished the home run trot.

 

I think we had one on ESPN tonight.
Joe Morgan said he was wrong.

 

Just like he said about the Mets' second baseman, Jose Valentine ... er ... Carlos Gomez ... er ... Ruben Gotay. And in his interview with Willie Randolph, when he asked how Odalis Perez's fastball was working.

 

I believe the Reds' David Ross hit into one this year.

 

I remember the Yankees in their shit days, like maybe 1990, had both runners reach the plate at around the same time in a game, and both were tagged out. Might have been the same year that they had the dude throw a no-hitter and lose 4-0 to the ChiSox.