It was April Fool’s Day. Well, nothing crazy really happened, but some friends were sharing some jokes. Of course, there were some jokes about baseball. Suddenly, a friend indicated that a player seemed to take the mound several times in a regular season.
Well, that player is a position player. When he was on the mound, it certainly showed that there was a huge run difference. It was a fun conversation. After the talk, I began to think whether that player had really thrown a lot over the last several seasons.
To solve my doubts, I decided to check on the statcast website.
Looking back at the last 17 seasons, only 2 position players threw 200+ pitches. Christian Bethancourt has played 8 seasons in the majors and his primary position is catcher. He’s now in the Buffalo Bisons (Triple-A affiliate of the Blue Jays). The first time that he took the mound was in 2016. From 2016 to 2023, he took the mound 11 times and threw 9.2 innings with 212 pitches. Well, the result wasn’t good. He gave up 16 hits and 13 runs (10 earned). But interestingly, he struck out 4 batters.
Hanser Alberto played in the majors for 8 seasons. He didn’t play in the big leagues last season. He played several positions in his career. Most of the time, he’s an infielder. The first time that he went on the mound was in 2019. From 2019 to 2023, he made 14 relief appearances, posting a 7.07 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP over 14 innings. In particular, he made 10 relief appearances in 2022. He tossed 11 innings, giving up 5 runs (all earned). In his career, he struck out 2 batters.
In addition, Luke Maile has played 9 seasons in the majors and he’s a catcher. Now, he’s playing for the Omaha Storm Chasers (Triple-A affiliate of the Royals). In 2019, he took the mound for the first time in his career. In that season, he faced 8 batters and allowed only a hit. From 2019 to 2024, he made 10 relief appearances and tossed 11 innings with 198 pitches. Maile gave up 15 runs and 6 home runs. However, he hasn’t allowed any walks so far in his career and he struck out 3 batters.
Moreover, Chris Gimenez played in the majors from 2009 to 2018. His primary position is catcher. The first time that he took the mound was in 2014. From 2014 to 2018, he made 11 relief appearances and threw 11 innings with 167 pitches. Gimenez gave up 16 runs (all earned). But he only allowed a walk.
Finally, Andrew Romine played 11 seasons in the majors. He spent most of his career as a shortstop and he actually played all positions in baseball. Yes, he used to be a catcher and a pitcher as well. The first time that he took the mound was in 2014. From 2014 to 2021, he made 8 relief appearances, giving up 9 runs over 6.2 innings. In total, he used 149 pitches.
Looking at the position players who used to throw at least 150 pitches over the last 17 years, most of them are the catchers. And, an interesting case is that Andrew Romine even used to play all positions. Well, you can’t expect to see them pitch well. Nonetheless, sometimes, it’s entertaining to see them pitch. Accidentally, they might strike out a batter.
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