Considering the sheer number of things that happen in a baseball game, there are plenty of opportunities for absurdities to occur — players hitting balls that bounce in the dirt, fielders making multiple errors on the same play, Bartolo Colon launching home runs, and so on. The one that gets everyone excited, though, is when position players pitch.
What a good time! It’s generally a farce, occasionally a revelation, and lives up even the dullest rout. Will Willians Astudillo throw an eephus pitch? Can Albert Pujols strike someone out? How many runs will Brett Phillips give up? All in good fun. After all, it generally happens when the game is so ridiculously out of reach that you could put pretty much anyone up there and the outcome wouldn’t change.
With Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Hanser Alberto being the latest position player to take the mound, here’s a short list of every time a non-pitcher has thrown a pitch this season. A quick note — Shohei Ohtani does not count for these purposes. We’re talking about players whose primary job is note pitching only.
- Carson Kelly, Arizona Diamondbacks (1 G, 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 K, 0 BB, 0.00 ERA)
- Brett Phillips, Tampa Bay Rays (2 G, 3 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 3 HR, 0 K, 2 BB, 24.00 ERA)
- Wil Myers, San Diego Padres(1 G, 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 HR, 0 K, 0 BB, 18.00 ERA)
- Dee Strange-Gordon, Washington Nationals (1 G, 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 HR, 0 K, 3 BB, 27.00 ERA)
- Mike Brosseau, Milwaukee Brewers(1 H, 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 K, 1 BB, 0.00 ERA)
- Diego Castillo, Pittsburgh Pirates (1 G, 1 IP, 4 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 36.00 ERA)
- Kevin Plawecki, Boston Red Sox(1 G, 1 IP, 1 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 0.00 ERA)
- Matt Reynolds, Cincinnati Reds(2 G, 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 K, 0 BB, 6.75 ERA)
- Nick Gordon, Minnesota Twins(1 G, 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 K, 0 BB, 0.00 ERA)
- Luis Gonzalez, San Francisco Giants(3 G, 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 K, 1 BB, 6.32 ERA)
- Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals(1 G, 1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 HR, 0 K, 1 BB, 36.00 ERA)
- Hanser Alberto, Los Angeles Dodgers (8 G, 8 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 K, 0 BB, 3.86 ERA)
- Chad Pinder, Oakland A’s (1 G, 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 0 K, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 27.00 ERA)
- Andrelton Simmons, Chicago Cubs (1 G, 1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 0 K, 0 BB, 45.00 ERA)
- Josh Harrison, Chicago White Sox (1 G, 1 IP, 2 R, 1 K, 1 BB, 1 HR, 18.00 ERA)
- Williams Astudillo, Miami Marlins (1 G, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 K, 1 BB, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA)
- Jake Hager, Arizona Diamondbacks (2 G, 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 K, 0 BB, 0 HR, 13.50 ERA)
- Frank Schwindel, Chicago Cubs (1 G, 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 HR, 0 K, O BB, 18.00 ERA)
- Josh VanMeter, Pittsburgh Pirates (1 G, 1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 HR, 0 K, 1 BB, 45.00 ERA)
- Donovan Walton, San Francisco Giants (1 G, 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 HR, 0 K, 1 BB, 27.00 ERA)
- Chris Owings, Baltimore Orioles (1 G, 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 HR, 0 K, 0 BB, 9.00 ERA)
- Randal Grichuk, Colorado Rockies (1 G, 1 IP, 0 H, 30R, 0 HR, 0 K, 0 BB, 0.00 ERA)
- Harold Castro, Detroit Tigers (1 G, 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 HR, 0 K, 1 BB, 9.00 ERA)
- Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals (2 G, 2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 K, 0 BB, 2 HR, 18.00 ERA)
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