In the mid-2010s, putting in a position player to pitch in an effort to save overworked bullpens became more popular than ever before in the history of Major League Baseball. Starting in 2023, rules changes restricted position players from pitching unless their team is leading by ten or more runs in the 9th inning, their team is losing by eight or more runs at any time, or the game is in extra innings. This weekend, i saw my tenth eighth position player pitch, so it seemed like a good time to review.
5/6/2017
With a depleted bullpen and down by five against the Yankees, Joe Maddon turned to catcher Miguel Montero to pitch the final inning. Montero’s inning could generously be called effectively wild, as he walked two and sailed one pitch over Chris Carter’s head but managed to escape without giving up a run. Maddon’s notion to avoid going back to his bullpen proved prescient, as the following night the two teams went 18 innings, with the Cubs losing by one.
7/6/2017
Exactly two months later, Maddon again turned to his bench rather than his bullpen as the Brewers held a nine-run lead heading into the 9th inning. This time he turned to veteran outfielder Jon Jay, who gave up just one hit while retiring the Brewers on just 16 pitches.
6/22/2019
Wrigley Field was again the stage for our next installment of position players pitching, as catcher Victor Caratini took the mound for the 9th inning with the Cubs down 10-1 to the Mets. He did his part, throwing a 1-2-3 inning and giving the Cubs a chance to mount a comeback in the bottom of the 9th. The rally fell short, however, as the Cubs lost 10-2.
8/17/2021
We move to the South Side for our next occurrence, this time for an opponent. With the White Sox leading the A’s 9-0, first baseman Mitch Moreland came out to face the White Sox in the bottom of the 8th. Facing the bottom of the batting order, Moreland gave up a single to Danny Mendick en route to a scoreless outing.
9/16/2021
Nearly a month later, the shoe was on the other foot as the White Sox were losing 9-3 to the Angels at Guaranteed Rate Field. With two outs in the top of the 9th, Rick Renteria picks Romy Gonzalez to nail down the final out. With Shohei Ohtani on first base, Gonzalez strikes out Max Stassi on four pitches to end the inning.
7/9/2022
With pitching in his genes, Kody Clemens took the mound for the bottom of the 8th with his Tigers trailing the White Sox 8-0. Clemens did what none of his fellow Tigers could accomplish that day, giving up no hits and retiring the side on only fourteen pitches.
4/3/2023
The Giants had a big 7-3 lead against the White Sox heading into the 9th inning when Jose Ruiz took the mound looking to hold the line. Instead, he faced six batters, giving up five runs on two home runs while only getting a single out. Down by nine, rookie manager Pedro Grifol brought in infielder Hanser Alberto to mop up. He gave up two hits but wrapped up the inning without giving up a run.
5/1/2025
With the White Sox holding a surprising 8-0 lead over the Brewers, Jake Bauers, who started the game in left field, came in to pitch the bottom of the 8th. He quickly put down the White Sox, getting a 1-2-3 inning on just ten pitches.
To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball. As we head into 2026, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Los Angeles Angels.
