Great Moments in Pitchers Hitting: Part II

The end of pitchers batting in the National League may be rapidly approaching. For more than a century, pitchers have brought us glorious moments of surprise greatness in the batter’s box, which are worth treasuring. Last week we looked back at true greatness—immortal moments, postseason heroics and phenomenal games. Today we’ll take a walk on the quirky side of greatness in pitcher hitting.

Part II: Oddities and Trivialities

Debuts

When watching a pitcher’s major league debut, attention will naturally be focused on his pitching performance. If that debut comes in a National League park, however, he will be obligated to take at least a turn or two at the plate as well, absent a disastrous outing. It’s rare that a pitcher steals the show in his debut at the plate, but when it happens it’s one of those marvelously unexpected moments of fun baseball.

Since 1914 (the beginning of the era of searchable game logs on Baseball-Reference’s invaluable Play Index), 10 pitchers have homered in their debuts. In 1963, Detroit Tigers rookie Denny McLain added his name to that list with a homer in his major league debut, five years before becoming the last pitcher to record a 30-win season. It was the only homer of McLain’s career.

The most recent pitcher to homer in his debut was Washington Nationals pitcher Tommy Milone on Sept. 30, 2011. On the first pitch of his first major league at-bat, Milone took Mets pitcher Dillon Gee deep for a three-run homer. He was traded to the American League a few months later and hasn’t homered again.

The most memorable pitcher debut homer in recent history, however, was off the bat of Rockies’ rookie Jason Jennings on Aug. 23, 2001 — also against the Mets, though this game was in Flushing. The achievement was particularly remarkable because Jennings pitched himself into the opportunity to make history. His homer didn’t come until the ninth inning, when he was allowed to hit for himself because he was in the midst of throwing a shutout. At the end of the day, Jennings had allowed five hits and no runs through nine, while going 3-for-5 with a homer and two runs batted in. A true Renaissance Man major league debut if ever there was one.

Just last summer, another pitcher took center stage on the day of his debut for his stellar achievements at the plate in the same geographic location, this time for the Mets (though not the same ballpark). On June 28, Mets left-hander Steven Matz debuted at Citi Field against the Reds. In his first at-bat, against Josh Smith, he wowed the crowd with an RBI double, but he wasn’t done yet. His second trip to the plate resulted in a single while his third and final at-bat ended with a two-run double off reliever Pedro Villareal. He also went 7.2 strong innings on the mound, yielding just two runs and securing both his first win and his place in the hearts of a blissful New York crowd that Sunday afternoon.

Memorable Match-ups

The false certainty of an automatic out when a pitcher steps to the plate is only enhanced when the man standing on the mound is elite. There are countless moments where Joe Pitcher recorded a hit or even a homer off a Cy Young caliber pitcher. The greatest pitchers in recent history—Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux—all had a pitcher take them deep at least once. Let’s dig into a few of those moments where an elite pitcher was on the mound, a pitcher at the plate and expectations were upended.

Jon Rauch vs. Roger Clemens, Aug. 13, 2004

Roger Clemens didn’t hit many speed bumps during his 2004 season. At age 41, Clemens went 18-4 that year en route to his seventh and final Cy Young Award. He was a living legend so remarkable that some would argue he was the greatest pitcher of all time. Few mismatches in baseball have been as great as 6-foot-11 rookie pitcher Jon Rauch stepping to the plate against Clemens in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium that August evening.

Rauch was just under a month removed from the trade that sent him from the Chicago White Sox to Montreal. He had spent his entire career with the White Sox organization, so his first professional at-bat came less than a week before his match-up with Clemens. On Aug. 7, he faced Clemens’ teammate Andy Pettitte twice and struck out twice. Six days later in the bottom of the second with two outs and a runner on, Rauch homered on the first pitch he saw from one of the sport’s all-time greats. He would record just one more hit in his entire career.

Madison Bumgarner vs. Clayton Kershaw, May 21, 2015

Over the past two seasons, Madison Bumgarner has hit a jaw-dropping .252/.280/.469 with nine home runs in 159 plate appearances. Of the 124 qualified hitters since 2014, only 66 have a higher OPS than Bumgarner. Were he eligible, Bumgarner’s .749 OPS would slide right in between Kole Calhoun (.750) and Brandon Crawford (.748). Although it isn’t the sexiest title in baseball, Bumgarner has unequivocally been the best hitting pitcher since 2014.

With that in mind, it must be considered a great and marvelous baseball gift that the pitcher Bumgarner has faced in his career more than any other is the best active pitcher in the majors: Clayton Kershaw. The very first time Bumgarner faced Kershaw in April 2011 he singled, but Kershaw won each of their next 11 pitcher-batter duels, including seven on a strikeout.

Then, in May of last year, Bumgarner stepped to the plate in the third inning of a 0-0 game and emerged the victor: He sent a first-pitch fastball from Kershaw deep into the left field seats. Sometimes a great pitcher gets got by a weak-hitting pitcher. Sometimes he gets got by Madison Bumgarner.

Mitch Williams vs. Trevor Hoffman, July 2, 1993

One of the simultaneous joys and frustrations of baseball fandom on the East Coast is that there are often baseball games to follow until one o’clock in the morning. On rare occasion, West Coasters may have a local game approach going that late, but the opportunity to watch their team play on the other coast until the wee hours is almost unheard of. On one July night in 1993 though, the San Diego Padres played a rain-delayed doubleheader in Philadelphia that ended at 4:40 a.m. local time and 1:40 a.m. for San Diegans tuned in back home.

When a game extends beyond midnight local time it becomes known as #weirdbaseball on Twitter. I don’t know how to best classify a game that ends less than an hour before sunrise. #weirderbaseball? #weirdestbaseball?

It feels inevitable that a game played that late went into extra innings. With the game tied at two apiece, Phillies closer Mitch Williams and Padres rookie soon-to-be-closer Trevor Hoffman both entered the game in the ninth inning. The game remained tied until the bottom of the 10th, when Hoffman walked Pete Incaviglia and gave up a single to Jim Eisenreich before striking out Darren Daulton. Then, with runners on first and second and one out, Williams stepped to the plate for the 17th (and final) time in his career. Williams lined the second pitch he saw over the shortstop’s head for a single and Incaviglia chugged home from second base to close out the latest game in major league history.

A closer who would become infinitely more famous for his role in another walk-off later that year getting a walk-off hit against a likely future Hall of Fame closer? #weirdestbaseball indeed.

Absurdity

Bartolo Colon spent the majority of his career in the American League, so when he joined the Mets for the 2014 season his experience as a batsman was notably sparse. In 104 career plate appearances he had compiled 10 singles, no extra base hits, 57 strikeouts and not a single walk. A 41-year-old pitcher with a body type more reminiscent of your local mechanic than your local baseball hero and a swing so foreign to the sport of baseball, Colon could not have faced lower expectations at the plate. But baseball is baseball, and even batsmen as lovably absurd as Colon will get their moments in the sun.

Hitless through his first 11 starts in a Mets uniform, Colon dug in against Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn to lead off the sixth inning on June 18, 2014. With the Mets down 1-0, Colon lined a fastball just fair down the third base line. He jogged around first and into second with the carefree running style of a dad letting his toddler beat him in a foot race. At age 41, Colon had recorded the first extra base hit in his career. He came around to score the tying run when the next batter, Eric Young Jr., followed up with a double. The Mets would go on to win the game, 3-2.

Since that game, Colon has recorded nine more hits with the Mets, including another double, but one key category is still missing from Colon’s career stat line: a walk. With 237 career plate appearances to his name, Colon currently ranks second all-time for most plate appearances without drawing a single walk. Tracy Stallard, a pitcher from the 1960s, sits atop the leader board at 258, just 21 plate appearances ahead. Fortunately, Colon re-signed with the Mets and now will have the opportunity to top Stallard and make history with a walk-free 2016.

For another great moment in funny-looking old guys doing incredible things at the plate for the first time, we need to go back to a game at Miller Park, on Sept. 19, 2003. With the Arizona Diamondbacks in town, 39-year-old Randy Johnson took the mound and, consequently, took to the batter’s box.

Exceptionally tall players have a notable advantage on the pitcher’s mound in that they can use an extreme downhill plane while pitching. Hitting, however, is more challenging for the tallest players due to the length of a swing generated by long limbs. At 6-foot-10, Johnson has decidedly long limbs and, unsurprisingly, throughout his career, he put up a paltry .305 OPS in 691 plate appearances.

On that day in 2003, however, Johnson stepped to the plate in the top of the third with nobody on, one out, and crushed a 2-0 pitch off Doug Davis for the first and only home run of his career. Johnson had innumerable moments of greatness, but perhaps none were as beautifully unexpected as that deep fly ball he hit toward the end of his Hall of Fame career.

Wrapping It Up

This has done little more than scratch the surface of fine achievements in hitting by pitchers. There is also the modern era hit leader among pitchers: Walter Johnson with 547 career hits. Or the hit leader in the DH era (since 1973): Greg Maddux (272 hits). The legendary Babe Ruth hit .308/.413/.568 with 49 homers in the six seasons he pitched regularly. Hall of Famer Bob Lemon hit two walk-offs among his 37 career home runs and holds the record for most home runs in the post-integration era.

There have also been recent two-homer games by pitchers including Micah Owings, Dontrelle Willis and Robert Person. Two pitchers have hit a pinch hit walk-off homer: Gary Peters (White Sox, July 19, 1964) and Earl Wilson (Tigers, July 15, 1966). Just last year an American League pitcher, Nate Karns, got his first (and still only) hit on a home run in Aaron Nola’s major league debut.

The list is endless and represents a unique and fun avenue for baseball greatness. Baseball doesn’t need pitchers hitting, but it’s profoundly enhanced by having them do so.

References & Resources

• Baseball-Reference