Rays Outfielder Takes the Mound for 1st Time in Career, Ends with Worst Outing We Have Ever Seen
Enough is enough already!
It used to be cute when a team was losing, the game out of control, and the manager would let a position player pitch an inning. It was a way to save a bullpen arm, and have a little fun.
But Friday night, Tampa Bay’s Carlos Gomez became the 43rd non-pitcher to take the mound this season. (For a little perspective, the prior MLB record was 32 non-pitchers, according to The Athletic.)
The Rays were trailing Baltimore 12-3 in the eighth inning. (That in itself may have been the most remarkable part of the story, given the Orioles’ season.)
Manager Kevin Cash called on his outfielder, two-time All-Star Carlos Gomez, but “Go-Go” quickly turned into “Oh No!” in this one.
Gomez threw 18 pitches and walked four batters. A runner on second base actually scored on back-to-back balks.
You can see the whole outing here, but you may want to wear some protective eyewear.
Mercifully, Cash pulled Gomez after his fourth walk, leaving the center fielder with a nifty career pitching line: .1 inning, 4 walks, 0 strikeouts, 2 balks and a lifetime ERA of 81.
The good news for Gomez is that he was only slightly less embarrassing than the last time we saw him. You remember, earlier this month?
Who knows? Maybe his showing up the umpire caused him to get “squeezed” on the mound.
Apparently, figuring it couldn’t go any worse, Cash then brought in another non-pitcher, Jesus Sucre. Compared to Gomez, the catcher-turned-pitcher was a Cy Young contender, throwing 8 strikes in 9 pitches to record 2 outs.
Still, it’s a shame that the Rays made even more of a mockery of what could have been ace Chris Archer’s last game in a Tampa uniform.
Believe it or not, Gomez wasn’t even the worst Rays pitcher Friday night.
Reliever Austin Pruitt — who actually gets paid to pitch — gave up 8 runs (6 earned) in relief of Archer, while recording only two outs.
Everyone has had fun watching position players pitch, sure. But can we get back to the actual game now?
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