Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Email me at btimmermann@gmail.com
Select a date:
Last night in Anaheim, Rajai Davis of Oakland pulled off the unusual feat of getting a hit while not actually having a position at the time. In BPro's terms, he was a 12.
In the top of the seventh, Oakland DH Frank Thomas led off the inning with a double and Chris Denorfia pinch ran for him. Two batters later, left fielder Jack Cust singled and Davis pinch ran for him.
The inning kept going and going and going as Angels pitcher Chris Bootcheck had a bad night. Eventually, the DH spot came up again and Denorfia batted. Denorfia, because he ran for a DH, was automatically considered to be a DH the first time he came up. But when Davis came up, he was a man without a position. Players aren't credited with a position played in the field until they actually go out into the field.
He wasn't a pinch runner anymore. After all, he wasn't running for anyone at the time. He wasn't a pinch hitter, he wasn't batting in place of anybody. He was just Rajai Davis.
Davis would eventually go into the game as the center fielder as center fielder Ryan Sweeney moved to right and right fielder Emil Brown moved to left.
Davis' situation isn't that unusual and comes up every now and then when a pinch hitter bats early in a big inning or a pinch runner does the same. The last pinch runner to come in and then later have an at bat and get a hit as a "no position" was Jason LaRue of the Reds on July 7, 2006.
vr, Xei
The DH is different because it is locked in place in the batting order.
From Rule 6.10:
A runner may be substituted for the Designated Hitter and the runner assumes the
role of Designated Hitter. A Designated Hitter may not pinch run.
Rule 10.20 (comment):
The official scorer shall credit a player with having played on defense if such player is on the field for at least one pitch or play.
Denorfia was a DH. Davis was not a left fielder when he batted the first time.
Yes, but those instances are hard to find. You probably can tweek Retrosheet game files to find the instances of that.
It probably happens once or twice a year where the player doesn't stay in the game.
But they rarely get a chance to come up and bat in the same inning. That's what we're looking for.
Don't cut off your hands, Bob. Don't you do it!!!
Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.