Baseball Toaster: The Griddle : Bobby Cox pulls a Paul Richards or possibly a Joe Cantillon

Bobby Cox pulls a Paul Richards or possibly a Joe Cantillon

2008-04-03 19:22

by Bob Timmermann

With runners on first and third and one out in the top of 10th in Atlanta, Bobby Cox replaced pitcher Chris Resop with Royce Ring to pitch to Adam LaRoche. Resop moved to left field to replace Matt Diaz. After Ring struck out LaRoche, Resop moved back to the hill to face Xavier Nady. Gregor Blanco then entered the game as the new left fielder.

Resop then gave up a single to Nady to put the Pirates ahead 4-3. The Pirates won the game by that score.

Paul Richards, then the manager of the Chicago White Sox, is believed to be the first manager in the major leagues in modern times to pull off a switch like this in order to save a relief pitcher. There were numerous instances in the 19th Century of players switching positions between the mound and the field although that was easier in that era when many players played multiple positions.

Peter Morris in his book Game of Inches, describes a 1909 White Sox-Senators game in which Washington manger Joe Cantillon used four pitchers in a 17-inning tie and rotated many of them between the mound and the field, although his moves were not as much strategic as they were out of necessity. The game finished in a 1-1 tie despite Washington's pitchers giving up 13 hits and nine walks.

Mets manager Davey Johnson rotated Jesse Orosco and Roger McDowell between the mound and the outfield in this contentious extra-inning game at Cincinnati in 1986.

Comments

2008-04-03 19:49:46

1. Indiana Jon

How do you research these things so quickly?

2008-04-03 19:53:46

2. Bob Timmermann

I have books. And way too much stuff running through my head.

2008-04-03 19:57:50

3. Indiana Jon

I have an equal amount of stuff running through my head. I just can't access it. I also have very few books since the internet was invented.

2008-04-03 20:25:56

4. gpellamjr

Damn you, Bob, and your boring anecdotes!

2008-04-03 20:29:05

5. Johnny Nucleo

Whitey Herzog did this a few times with Todd Worrell and Ken Dayley IIRC

2008-04-03 20:46:08

6. mehmattski

For years I've wanted to do this in video games, but they always have these "rules" about how pitchers can only "pitch." I want my LOOGY to become a LTOGY (with a right hander in between)!

2008-04-03 21:10:00

7. Bob Hendley

Possible solution to our own leftfield debate? Though we can't call it the solution, nor for that matter are we allowed to call it a debate.

2008-04-03 21:11:56

8. BruceR

I've always wondered why the pitcher and an infielder don't switch when an intentional walk is called for. It does not seem good to have the pitcher purposely throwing outside of the strike zone only to have to figure out how to do it again for the following batter.

2008-04-03 21:45:08

9. dianagramr

You mean like Jesus "one from" Colome did this afternoon in the Phils/Nats game? Rollins got to third with one out in the bottom of the 10th. He IBBed Utley and Howard to load them up, then walked the winning run home on 4 pitches.

2008-04-03 21:54:44

10. BruceR

9 Yeah, you got it ... exactly like that. Especially with two IBBs to give. Let the SS give up the two IBBs -- he's not doing anything but watching anyway.

By the way, nice Berman-ism (though I had to say it out loud to get it).

2008-04-03 23:04:34

11. Eric Enders

The Retrosheet box score for the Cardinals-Braves game on May 14, 1988, contains the following notations:

Jose Oquendo moves to P; Duane Walker moves to 1B; Jose DeLeon replaces Randy O'Neal playing LF batting 1st
Tom Brunansky moves to LF; Jose DeLeon moves to RF
Jose DeLeon moves to LF; Tom Brunansky moves to RF
Tom Brunansky moves to LF; Jose DeLeon moves to RF
Jose DeLeon moves to LF; Tom Brunansky moves to RF
Tom Brunansky moves to LF; Jose DeLeon moves to RF
Jose DeLeon moves to LF; Tom Brunansky moves to RF
Tom Brunansky moves to LF; Jose DeLeon moves to RF
Jose DeLeon moves to LF; Tom Brunansky moves to RF
Tom Brunansky moves to LF; Jose DeLeon moves to RF
Jose DeLeon moves to LF; Tom Brunansky moves to RF
Tom Brunansky moves to LF; Jose DeLeon moves to RF
John Tudor pinch hits for Jose DeLeon batting 1st

2008-04-04 03:20:30

12. Tom Meagher

On the other thread, I correctly predicted (a) that the Pirates would win 4-3 and (b) that Bobby Cox would make a bold strategic move to get the platoon advantage on Adam LaRoche.

My predictions are unassailable.

2008-04-04 03:22:28

13. Tom Meagher

and (c) a pitcher would be messing around in the outfield.

2008-04-04 11:56:52

14. El Lay Dave

0 I remember watching that '86 Mets/Reds game live. WOR was on my cable. It was the first thing I thought of when I first heard about last night's Braves game, this morning's Sportscenter repeat.

5 According to B-R, Dayley never played out of position, Worrell played OF 4 times and the the only year that he and another pitcher did also, Ricky Horton played RF (did not pitch) and Worrell didn't appear.

11 Famous game with Oquendo pitching 4 innings! (DeLeon did not pitch.) The Dodgers did some P/OF flip-flopping too. On Aug 17, 1982 both Fernando Valenzuela and Bob Welch played RF/LF in different innings, swapping spots with Dusty Baker; neither pitched.

2008-04-04 13:15:29

15. Johnny Nucleo

14 I meant that Whitey pulled a "Paul Richards" with Worrell/Dayley, not a "Davey Johnson", but I can see that it was unclear.

Worrell/Dayley: June 24, 1986 : http://tinyurl.com/4vugzt (Cards win 5-2 over Pittsburgh, Dayley strikes out Barry Bonds.)
Worrell/Horton June 27, 1986: http://tinyurl.com/4w2w3n (12th inning, tie game, Horton strikes out Greg Gross, Cardinals lose 2-1 in 17th)
Worrell/Dayley Sept 22, 1987 :http://tinyurl.com/4fgt3t (Phillies 3 Cardinals 2, Dayley strikes out Von Hayes).
Worrell/Dayley April 11, 1989 - http://tinyurl.com/3hewvv
(Tied 4-4, Dayley allows bases loaded groundout 6-4, Cubs score go-ahead run).

I'd be interested to see all the times it's been done in the past twenty years or so. Less than 20 perhaps?

2008-04-04 13:31:49

16. grandcosmo

Then there was the Dodgers vs. Cubs in 1982 when the following occured:

DODGERS 20TH: Cey singled to right; Cey was picked off first
(pitcher to first); Cey ejected for pushing Pallone following
the pickoff, Lasorda also ejected; Garvey struck out;
Russell singled to left; Yeager grounded out (third to first); 0
R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Dodgers 1, Cubs 1.

CUBS 20TH: GUERRERO CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING 3B); VALENZUELA
REPLACED CEY (PLAYING RF); Sandberg struck out; Bowa flied out
to right; BAKER CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING RF); VALENZUELA
CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING LF); Buckner singled to right; Durham
forced Buckner (second to shortstop); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.
Dodgers 1, Cubs 1.

DODGERS 21ST: Reuss grounded out (shortstop to first); S. Sax
doubled to right; Ripley threw a wild pitch [S. Sax to third];
Landreaux walked; Johnston ejected sometime in 21st;
Baker hit a sacrifice fly to right [Landreaux to second, S. Sax
scored]; Guerrero was walked intentionally; Valenzuela grounded
out (second to first); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Dodgers 2, Cubs 1.

CUBS 21ST: WELCH REPLACED VALENZUELA (PLAYING LF); Ripley flied
out to center; WELCH CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING RF); BAKER
CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING LF); Davis grounded out (shortstop to
first); BAKER CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING RF); WELCH CHANGED
POSITIONS (PLAYING LF); Henderson grounded out (second to
first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Dodgers 2, Cubs 1.

2008-04-04 14:08:47

17. John Oconnor

The Pirates did this in 1979, moving Kent Tekulve to left field with two out in the ninth and bringing in a lefty (I believe it was Grant Jackson). Ironically, the next batter hit a fly ball to left, which Tekulve caught for his only putout as a leftfielder.

Andrew Shimmin

Travis Hafner of Cleveland by Gregg Zaun of Toronto on May 12, 2008