{"id":2484,"date":"2022-12-29T10:05:32","date_gmt":"2022-12-29T10:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/the-year-in-strange-but-true-mlbs-weirdest-injuries-wildest-postseason-moments-and-facts\/"},"modified":"2022-12-29T10:05:32","modified_gmt":"2022-12-29T10:05:32","slug":"the-year-in-strange-but-true-mlbs-weirdest-injuries-wildest-postseason-moments-and-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/the-year-in-strange-but-true-mlbs-weirdest-injuries-wildest-postseason-moments-and-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"The Year in Strange But True: MLB\u2019s weirdest injuries, wildest postseason moments and facts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>So \u2026 did you hear the one about the baseball player who got hurt punching his locker <em>after giving up a hit to his brother<\/em>?\u2026 How about the guy who swung at a pitch, on national TV in the postseason, that Statcast estimates would have crossed the plate <em>2<\/em> <em>feet under ground<\/em>? \u2026 OK, what about the team that threw two immaculate innings in the same game <em>with<\/em> <em>the same three hitters doing all that three-pitch whiffing?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Hey, great news. We\u2019ve brought all of that back to life \u2014 and lots more weirdness \u2014 in the third and final installment of the Strange But True Feats of the Year trilogy. For one more time in 2022, let\u2019s bask in the always entertaining but barely explicable Strangeness of baseball!<\/p>\n<h2>Strangest But Truest Injuries of the Year<\/h2>\n<h3>First prize: Mound 1, Plesac 0<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_4040571\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-image-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4040571 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28104237\/USATSI_18519013-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1700\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28104237\/USATSI_18519013-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28104237\/USATSI_18519013-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28104237\/USATSI_18519013-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28104237\/USATSI_18519013-1536x1020.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28104237\/USATSI_18519013-2048x1360.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-credits\">\n<div class=\"inline-credits-container\">\n      <span class=\"table-cell-span\"\/><br \/>\n      <span class=\"credits-text\">What will Zach Plesac do for an encore in 2023? (Ken Blaze \/ USA Today)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Is Zach Plesac the new Jeremy Affeldt? He should know I mean that as a compliment by the way, but still \u2026<\/p>\n<p>Affeldt was once such a fixture on these Injury of the Year lists, he actually reached out to me one year and complained that he <em>wasn\u2019t <\/em>No. 1. Well, that won\u2019t be an issue for Plesac, because he has now topped this list two years in a row. And by Strange But True standards, that\u2019s baseball\u2019s greatest streak since Cal Ripken Jr.\u2019s!<\/p>\n<p>Last year, Plesac fractured his right thumb while \u201caggressively ripping open his shirt.\u201d And I bet you thought it would be impossible to top that. Nope! This year, he moved up from the Clothing Division to the Field Obstacles Division, threw a right jab at the mound in Seattle after giving up an Aug. 27 home run to Jake Lamb, and fractured his fifth metacarpal. Maybe Affeldt can take him under his wing this winter and offer some tips on creative food-prep mishaps!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/streamable.com\/m\/zach-plesac-punches-the-ground?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Second prize: Brotherhood 1, Phil Maton 0<\/h3>\n<p>It was the final day of the regular season, a moment the Maton brothers \u2014 Phil (the Astros reliever) and Nick (the Phillies utility wiz) \u2014 had been waiting for all their lives. They were going to face each other in a real major-league game. Whereupon Nick would enjoy the thrill of getting a hit <em>off his brother. <\/em>Heartwarming, right?<\/p>\n<p>Oh, wait. What\u2019s that? Not so heartwarming? What could possibly foil the brotherly fun at a moment like this? Oh, only <em>the pitcher who gave up the hit punching his locker<\/em> \u2026 <em>breaking a bone in his throwing hand <\/em>\u2026 <em>and missing the entire postseason in which his team won the World Series. <\/em>Yep, and also \u2026 now he has to hear about that hit <em>for the rest of his life.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Third prize: The Closer With the Dragon Tattoo<\/h3>\n<p>It was such a brutal year for deposed Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, he couldn\u2019t even throw a strike at the tattoo parlor. Or at least that\u2019s his story and he\u2019s sticking to it. In one of those coincidences that only you tattoo aficionados out there could truly appreciate (or explain), Chapman had to head to the injured list \u2014 <em>for almost a month <\/em>\u00ad\u2014 because of an alleged <em>infected tattoo<\/em>. And we wouldn\u2019t even think of mentioning that this infection happened to flare up after messy back-to-back August outings in which he threw more balls than strikes. Oh, shoot. That just slipped out.<\/p>\n<p>So if we\u2019re not 100 percent sure that happened quite how he and the Yankees said it happened, why is he still so high on this list? Well, it deserves some kind of award \u2014 for being either the most creative injury or the most creative piece of injury folklore we heard all year.<\/p>\n<h3>Fourth prize: Don\u2019t mess with Mad Max\u2019s pooch<\/h3>\n<p>We all know Max Scherzer always has great bite on his slider. That\u2019s a good thing. But that bite his dog, Rafi, inflicted on his pitching hand this June? Ehhh, not quite that good a thing. So was it lucky or unlucky that Max was already on the IL at the time with an oblique injury, meaning that dog-bite mishap didn\u2019t cost him any more time? Aw, it doesn\u2019t matter. Despite many contenders for this list, <em>DOG BITES CY YOUNG<\/em> is one of those headlines almost guaranteed to elevate a guy onto the Injuries of the Year list.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"zxx\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/05kX0v94RY\">pic.twitter.com\/05kX0v94RY<\/a><br \/>\u2014 Max Scherzer (@Max_Scherzer) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Max_Scherzer\/status\/1533196927046754306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">June 4, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>Fifth prize: Mr. Basebrawl<\/h3>\n<p>Angels reliever Archie Bradley wouldn\u2019t be the first player to make this list by getting injured during a brawl (Angels versus Mariners Summer Slam event, June 28). But we had to award extra credit this time \u2014 because he didn\u2019t get hurt <em>in <\/em>the brawl. He fractured his elbow trying to climb out of the dugout <em>merely to join the brawl, <\/em>and let\u2019s just say he didn\u2019t quite nail the landing.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Archie Bradley broke his elbow after falling over the railing during the Angels-Mariners brawl the other day<br \/>(Video via <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jomboy_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">@Jomboy_<\/a>\u2019s breakdown) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8WTxoYMkkE\">pic.twitter.com\/8WTxoYMkkE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BaseballQuotes1\/status\/1541918771182452736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">June 28, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>Special Injury of the Year Postseason Awards<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Lance McCullers Jr. \u2014 <\/strong>Not everything that happens in those October victory celebrations is as festive as those euphoric champagne-splashed iPhone videos make them look. After the Astros eliminated the Mariners in the American League Division Series, McCullers got bonked on the elbow <em>by a champagne bottle<\/em> and had to have his ALCS start backed up a day. These guys don\u2019t just need goggles. They need body armor!<\/p>\n<p><strong>David Robertson \u2014 <\/strong>But then, other forms of postseason euphoria can be overrated, too. Just ask David Robertson. The Phillies reliever leaped for joy watching Bryce Harper\u2019s mammoth Game 2 homer against the Cardinals in the Wild Card Series \u2026 except that joy only lasted until he returned to earth \u2026 and forgot to deploy his parachute \u2026 which caused him to strain his right calf muscle \u2026 and miss the whole NLDS. Next time, we recommend pumping those fists in the air and keeping his calf muscles on land where they belong.<\/p>\n<h3>Special Broadcaster Injury of the Year Award<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s hard not to have a whole new admiration for the athleticism of Bernie Brewer after seeing the carnage Bernie\u2019s slide inflicted on Dodgers reporter David Vassegh of Sportsnet LA. Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time, when Vassegh attempted to whoosh down Bernie\u2019s slide during the Dodgers\u2019 August visit to Milwaukee. Six cracked ribs and a fractured wrist later, it didn\u2019t seem like the programming idea of the 21st century anymore. But the one thing any media member can always count on after a debacle like that is \u2026 <em>at least the players won\u2019t give him any crap at all about it!<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"und\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/HolyCrap?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">#HolyCrap<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/VasseghsChalet?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">#VasseghsChalet<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/THEREAL_DV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">@THEREAL_DV<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hKrwrAvYQV\">pic.twitter.com\/hKrwrAvYQV<\/a><br \/>\u2014 Justin Turner (@redturn2) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/redturn2\/status\/1560284370245664770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">August 18, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2>A Strange But True 118th World Series<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_3758731\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-image-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-3758731 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/11\/03064547\/USATSI_19349005-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/11\/03064547\/USATSI_19349005-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/11\/03064547\/USATSI_19349005-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/11\/03064547\/USATSI_19349005-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/11\/03064547\/USATSI_19349005-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/11\/03064547\/USATSI_19349005-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-credits\">\n<div class=\"inline-credits-container\">\n      <span class=\"table-cell-span\"\/><br \/>\n      <span class=\"credits-text\">From left, Rafael Montero, Bryan Abreu, Cristian Javier, catcher Christian V\u00e1zquez and Ryan Pressly pose for a photo after the combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the World Series. (Bill Streicher \/ USA Today)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>My five favorite Strange But True World Series tidbits, coming right up \u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. DUSTY! <\/strong>Let\u2019s put aside whatever you might feel about the Astros, OK? Can you do that for a moment? Thanks, because their manager, the legendary Johnny B. (Dusty) Baker, just did something amazing. Once upon a time, in 1968, he got a hit in the big leagues <em>as a teenager<\/em>. And in 2022, he won a World Series as a manager <em>in his 70s<\/em>. And you know how many people in the history of his sport have ever done that? <em>Of course, nobody else has done that, <\/em>because \u2026 <em>Dusty!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>2. DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT THE NO-HITTER? <\/strong>Once upon a time in a different universe, of World Series day games and grainy black-and-white \u201cvideo,\u201d Don Larsen pitched the most famous (and also only) World Series no-hitter of all time. Well, somebody else was bound to join him one of these centuries. And in Game 4 of this World Series, that turned out to be more like <em>somebodies \u2014 <\/em>by which we mean a four-pitcher Astros tag team (Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan \u201cNow or Never\u201d Pressly).<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll have to save the debate over whether this no-hitter was truly the same feat as Larsen\u2019s, because let\u2019s remember something: This is the Strange But True column. And we have some Strange But Trueness to pass along.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The CBP Strange But Trueness: <\/strong>This was the 1,745th game in postseason history. No-hitters have now been thrown in exactly three of them \u2014 Larsen\u2019s 1956 World Series perfect game, this Astros game and Roy Halladay\u2019s 2010 non-World Series (NLDS) no-hitter. But here\u2019s the Strange But True part:<\/p>\n<p><em>Two <\/em>of those three games were pitched in Philadelphia\u2019s favorite hitting haven, Citizens Bank Park \u2026 <em>and Dusty Baker was managing the visiting team in both of them<\/em> (2022 Astros and 2010 Reds, who lost to Halladay). What the heck were the odds of that?<\/p>\n<p><strong>The CBP Strange But Trueness Addendum: <\/strong>Oh, wait. There\u2019s one more thing. The Phillies have been playing baseball at Citizens Bank Park for 19 seasons. And how many regular-season no-hitters have <em>they <\/em>thrown there, while 100 percent of all postseason 21st-century no-hitters have been thrown there? Somehow or other, that answer is \u2026 <em>none!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Cristian Javier Strange But Trueness: <\/strong>Then there\u2019s the dude who started this World Series no-hitter, Cristian Javier. On one hand, he went only six innings, so he\u2019s no Don Larsen. On the other hand, he easily could have been working on <em>his sixth no-hitter in a row <\/em>(or at least his sixth combined no-hitter in a row).<\/p>\n<p>Check out the number of hits Javier allowed in his last six starts of the year: 0 \u2026 1 \u2026 2 \u2026 1 \u2026 1 \u2026 2. In other words, over those six starts, <em>he gave up a total of seven hits! <\/em>Former Astros great Dallas Keuchel had a game this year in which he gave up <em>nine hits<\/em> <em>in one inning<\/em> \u2026 and Cristian Javier gave up <em>seven hits<\/em> <em>over six starts. <\/em>Wow.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Strange But True No-Hitter Bookends: <\/strong>Isn\u2019t it incredible how one night at a ballpark can bear so little resemblance to the next night at that same ballpark, even in a World Series? This no-hitter was living proof.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 What happened in the game before this no-hitter? <em>The Phillies hit five home runs in one game! <\/em>And how many other teams in history have ever hit five home runs in one game and gotten no-hit in the next game, even including the regular season? Whaddaya think? It\u2019s zero, naturally.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 But then what happened in the game after this no-hitter? Following a night in which <em>no<\/em> Phillies hitter got a hit, the <em>first <\/em>Phillies hitter the next night (Kyle Schwarber) <em>hit a home run. <\/em>But here\u2019s the Strangest But Truest part: Nobody had hit one of those in the game after any no-hitter, regular season or postseason, since \u2026 <em>the day after the only other postseason no-hitter since Larsen\u2019s gem <\/em>(Brandon Phillips for the 2010 Reds, in the game after Halladay\u2019s no-no). Because \u2026 <em>baseball!<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4040634\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-image-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4040634 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28110118\/USATSI_19341722-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1783\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28110118\/USATSI_19341722-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28110118\/USATSI_19341722-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28110118\/USATSI_19341722-1024x713.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28110118\/USATSI_19341722-1536x1070.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28110118\/USATSI_19341722-2048x1427.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-credits\">\n<div class=\"inline-credits-container\">\n      <span class=\"table-cell-span\"\/><br \/>\n      <span class=\"credits-text\">Bryce Harper hits the first of five Phillies home runs off Lance McCullers Jr. in Game 3. (John Geliebter \/ USA Today)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>3. PARTY OF FIVE!<\/strong> OK, now remember that five-homer game we so casually referenced above? It didn\u2019t seem that casual at the time! Possibly that\u2019s because it isn\u2019t every day when a team hits five home runs in the first five innings of a World Series game. Oh, wait. Before Game 3 of this World Series, it hadn\u2019t been <em>any <\/em>day. There was lots and lots of crazy stuff that went with that. But it doesn\u2019t get any Stranger But Truer than this:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lance McCullers Jr. in 2022*: <\/strong>242 batters faced before this game \u2014 4 HR<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lance McCullers Jr., Game 3: <\/strong>20 batters faced \u2014 5 HR<\/p>\n<p><em>(*regular season + postseason)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>4. CY WHAT? <\/strong>It was Game 1 of the World Series. The Astros led 5-0. A starting pitcher with a 1.75 ERA was on the mound. His name was Justin Verlander. And it has been pretty firmly established that five-run leads don\u2019t disappear when this guy is spinning his Cy Young Award wizardry \u2026 ehhh, until this game anyhow \u2026 which would somehow end: Phillies 6, Astros 5, on J.T. Realmuto\u2019s 10th-inning Carlton Fisk imitation. So what the heck just happened?<\/p>\n<p>I asked my friends from STATS Perform to look into every other game in Verlander\u2019s career in which his team handed him a lead of five runs or more. Guess how those games went:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 His personal record? How about <em>99-and-0!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u2022 His team\u2019s record? How about <em>101-and-2!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u2022 And in the two losses, <em>he\u2019s <\/em>not the guy who gave back those leads. In both of them \u2014 July 10, 2015, and May 14, 2009 (both against the Twins) \u2014 late bullpen meltdowns inflicted the damage.<\/p>\n<p>But when you play baseball, stuff happens. And the Stranger But Truer that stuff is, the more likely it is to wind up in this very column!<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. WAIT, HAVEN\u2019T WE ALL BEEN HERE BEFORE?<\/strong> Finally, one of the Strangest But Truest parts about this World Series had nothing to do with anything that happened while it was being played. It all had to do with where it was played.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 So in Game 1, the Phillies did something that\u2019s the ultimate in Strange But Trueness. They opened the World Series <em>in the same ballpark (Minute Maid Park) where they\u2019d clinched their playoff spot 25 days earlier<\/em>! You think any team had ever done that <em>in any road park<\/em>? Heck, no.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 But then there was this related development: After ripping off seven wins in a row to kick off their Octoberfest, the Astros finally lost a postseason game in Game 1 of this World Series. Which meant \u2026they lost their first game of the <em>postseason <\/em>against the same team (the Phillies), that handed them their <em>last <\/em>loss of the regular season \u2014 25 days earlier in the same park. So how many other teams had ever had that happen to them in any World Series, no matter how long or short the gap was since their last loss? If you\u2019re thinking that answer is <em>none, <\/em>I think it explains why you\u2019re reading a Strange But True Feats of the Year column!<\/p>\n<h2>Ten more Strange But True Postseason Classics<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_3672454\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-image-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-3672454 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/09080655\/USATSI_19199836-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/09080655\/USATSI_19199836-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/09080655\/USATSI_19199836-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/09080655\/USATSI_19199836-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/09080655\/USATSI_19199836-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/10\/09080655\/USATSI_19199836-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-credits\">\n<div class=\"inline-credits-container\">\n      <span class=\"table-cell-span\"\/><br \/>\n      <span class=\"credits-text\">Oscar Gonzalez hits a 15th-inning walk-off homer to send the Guardians to the ALDS. (Ken Blaze \/ USA Today)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>ANYBODY MISS THOSE ZOMBIE RUNNERS? <\/strong>If your favorite thing in life is savoring two dozen doughnuts in one sitting, A) you should seek help immediately, but B) this was the postseason for you \u2014 because there were doughnuts all over the scoreboard in two certifiable October classics.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ALWCS Game 2:<\/strong> Guardians 1, Rays 0, in 15 innings of doughnut baking<\/p>\n<p><strong>ALDS Game 3: <\/strong>Astros 1, Mariners 0, in 18 innings of 00000000000000s<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022 <\/strong>Did you know that before these two games, only one postseason game had even made it past 12 scoreless innings \u2014 and then these two games went wayyy beyond that? So that\u2019s one game out of more than 1,700 \u2026 <em>and then two in a week <\/em>(Oct. 8 and Oct. 15). Because that\u2019s how baseball rolls!<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022 <\/strong>But of course, as the Rays and Mariners are so well aware, these were also 1-0 extra-inning <em>elimination games<\/em>. And there had been precisely two of those in more than a century of postseason history (1991: The Jack Morris Game; 1997: finale of the ALCS). And then \u2026 yep \u2026 <em>we had two more in a week!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022 <\/strong>Not to mention both of these games ended on walk-off home runs \u2014 <em>by two rookies <\/em>(Oscar Gonzalez for Cleveland, Jeremy Pe\u00f1a for Houston). So here we go again. According to the great Sarah Langs of MLB.com, in the history of postseason baseball, there had been exactly one extra-inning homer hit by any rookie ever (Chris Burke, for Houston, in 2005). And then \u2026 you can no doubt sing along with us at this point \u2026 <em>we had two in a week!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u2022 But hey, now for something completely different \u2026 strikeouts piled up by the Astros and Mariners in just that one 18-inning game: That would be 42! \u2026 As opposed to \u2026 <em>Strikeouts<\/em> <em>in the entire 1913 World Series (all five games of it): 35! <\/em>Because \u2026 baseball has apparently changed a little.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DOWN A TOUCHDOWN WITH NO GENO SMITH! <\/strong>Ah, but in happier Mariners postseason times, they also did something in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series that no team in postseason history had ever done: They found themselves trailing the Blue Jays by seven runs in the sixth inning, on the road \u2026 <em>and then roared back and won. <\/em>And yes, that\u2019s absolutely as Strange But True as you\u2019d think.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Before that game, according to STATS, teams that trailed in a postseason game by seven runs or more in the sixth inning or later had compiled an attractive record of \u2026 <em>3-239!<\/em> That\u2019s a winning percentage of \u2026 <em>.012!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u2022 We should also note that it\u2019s not as if miracle comebacks like this were a longtime Mariners specialty, either. Their all-time regular-season record when trailing by seven or more in the sixth or later? How about \u2026 <em>2-693<\/em> \u2026 which computes to a picturesque winning percentage of \u2026 <em>.003<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 And if you\u2019re guessing the Blue Jays don\u2019t make a habit of losing games like this, that\u2019s excellent guessing. Their regular-season record over the last 10 seasons in games they\u2019ve led by seven or more that late? How about \u2026 <em>149-1! <\/em>But then they lost that WCS game \u2026 when losing meant going home for the winter \u2026 which is mind-blowing, but also \u2026 <em>baseball!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>TRENT CITY \u2014 <\/strong>And now something else I bet you never saw coming \u2026 Trent Grisham!<\/p>\n<p>Maybe you can explain how the same dude can go from hitting .184 for the Padres last season \u2026 to then hitting postseason home runs, on back-to-back nights, <em>against <\/em><em>Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom<\/em>. But I can\u2019t. And since I spent way too much time looking into this, I can report that in baseball history, no player had ever finished a season with 500-plus plate appearances and a batting average that low <em>and then hit any postseason home runs. <\/em>\u2026 But then Trent Grisham not only hit two of them in two days, but also hit them <em>off the nastiest aces in Queens<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>BADER OF THE LOST PARK \u2014 <\/strong>And now more postseason long-ball artistry not predicted by any humans I know \u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Regular-season HR for the Yankees by Harrison Bader: <\/strong>0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Postseason HR for the Yankees by Harrison Bader: <\/strong>5<\/p>\n<p><strong>Postseason HR for the Yankees by Aaron Judge\/Giancarlo Stanton: <\/strong>4<\/p>\n<p>Baseball! It \u2026 makes \u2026 no \u2026 sense!<\/p>\n<p><strong>AIN\u2019T IT A SHANE \u2014 <\/strong>So how about your unprecedented Name Game pitching matchup in Game 1 of that Guardians-Rays Wild Card Series. We\u2019re talking about \u2026 <em>Shane (Bieber) versus Shane (McClanahan)! <\/em>Yep, it was the first Shane-versus-Shane game in postseason history. But was that the Strange But True part? No, it was not, because we can sum up all the scoring in this game with this bulletin from the sixth inning \u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jose (Siri) HR off Shane (Bieber) \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>After which \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jos\u00e9 (Ram\u00edrez) HR off Shane (McClanahan)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>All right, I know you\u2019re wondering, so here you go. \u2026 According to Baseball Reference MVP Kenny Jackelen, <em>of course <\/em>this was the first game in postseason history that two hitters with the same first name homered off two pitchers with the same first name in the same inning. So repeat after me \u2026 <em>The Shane of it<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p><strong>PROFAR AND AWAY \u2014 <\/strong>If there\u2019s one magic moment from this postseason I can\u2019t stop watching every time I need a laugh, I turn my attention to Game 2 of that Padres-Dodgers Division Series. But no, <em>not even to that goose on the field.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Rally goose? <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yXSxaGr8p8\">pic.twitter.com\/yXSxaGr8p8<\/a><br \/>\u2014 FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLBONFOX\/status\/1580406243763449856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">October 13, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I\u2019m talking about this!<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Clayton Kershaw, Lawn Dart Curveball (side view). <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QAWi1uQxTt\">pic.twitter.com\/QAWi1uQxTt<\/a><br \/>\u2014 Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PitchingNinja\/status\/1580378378146054150?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">October 13, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>So what the heck was that? That was Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar getting in the swing of things, literally, by taking an actual hack at a Clayton Kershaw curveball that apparently was on its way to an underground cave somewhere in the Himalayas. And I\u2019ve never been more grateful for the invention of Statcast than I was at that moment. Because that\u2019s how we now know the following critically important information:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Thanks to Statcast (and friend of the column Mike Fisher of Codify Baseball), we can try to make sense of just how low that pitch would have been when it crossed home plate if only the surface of the Earth hadn\u2019t gotten in the way. And that answer is: <em>2.19 feet under the plate<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 And thanks to Fisher\u2019s ability to run a complicated search of Statcast data <em>from a sports bar<\/em>, we now also know that in the Statcast era, <em>nobody had ever swung at any pitch quite that low <\/em>\u2026 not unless there are any groundhogs down there with a Louisville Slugger, anyway.<\/p>\n<p><strong>IT\u2019S ALL BETWEEN THE EARS \u2014 <\/strong>In other postseason Padres merriment, there was also this postseason first: <em>Ear check!<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Mets manager Buck Showalter asked the umpires to check Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove for foreign substances after it appeared Musgrove\u2019s ears were shiny. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/U6alihJnfD\">pic.twitter.com\/U6alihJnfD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JomboyMedia\/status\/1579275554318172160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">October 10, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>As if this needs any further explanation, this is the sight of Mets manager Buck Showalter asking the umpires to check Joe Musgrove\u2019s shiny earlobes for foreign substances in the middle of a postseason game (Game 3 of the Wild Card Series). On one level, it speaks for itself. On another level, this was my esteemed teammate Andy McCullough\u2019s pick as the weirdest thing he saw all year. Here\u2019s how he explained that pick on the latest Starkville podcast:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThe image of Joe Musgrove, with his ears glistening, like radioactive glistening, just glaring at the Mets dugout, as an umpire gently caressed them in search of sticky substances, really underscored that I should have tried harder in high school and done more with my life. Knowing that my job that night involved explaining why that man was touching that other man\u2019s ears was a real wakeup call.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU \u2014 <\/strong>I sure hope you didn\u2019t miss this magical moment in postseason brother history, in Game 2 of the NLCS. It\u2019s Padres catcher Austin Nola, getting a game-turning RBI single off his brother, Aaron, of the Phillies \u2026 <em>on an 0-2 pitch.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>But a funny thing happened to Austin on the way to Christmas trash talking: The Phillies blitzed the Padres in that series, four games to one. And also \u2026 <em>this:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Austin Nola in that NLCS:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1 for 2 against his brother<\/strong><br \/><strong>0 for 17 against pitchers he\u2019s not related<\/strong> <strong>to<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>LOW BLOWS \u2014 <\/strong>There were soooo many Strange But True Phillies moments from this postseason, they\u2019re almost a column unto themselves. There was the electrifying first inside-the-park homer by a catcher (J.T. Realmuto) in postseason history. \u2026 There were <em>two <\/em>stunning six-run innings, in a postseason when all the other teams in the tournament combined for zero innings that big. \u2026 And there was that time (against the Braves) when they somehow got a hit <em>on five pitches in a row.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>But if we\u2019re talking next-level Strange But Trueness, there\u2019s only one place to start \u2014 with Jean Segura. And why is that? Because he got the two biggest hits of his life <em>on pitches that were closer to the Rocky Balboa statue than they were to home plate<\/em>. Take a look.<\/p>\n<p>Game 1, Wild Card Series:<\/p>\n<p>Game 3, NLCS:<\/p>\n<p>So how unhittable were those two pitches? Here\u2019s how unhittable, according to Codify Baseball:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hits on pitches like that by Jean Segura in this postseason: <\/strong>2<\/p>\n<p><strong> Hits like that <em>by all other hitters in the last 15 postseasons<\/em>: <\/strong>1<\/p>\n<p>Strange But True plate coverage!<\/p>\n<p><strong>DEJA BOOM! <\/strong>Oh, all right. Can\u2019t help but jam one more spectacular Strange But True Phillies note in here. Had to do it because this was mind-boggling. We\u2019ll begin with Bryce\u00a0Harper\u2019s final swing of the final game of the NLCS, because this man had himself a moment.<\/p>\n<p>Just your average lead-flipping, game-winning, NLCS-clinching, let\u2019s-go-to-the-World Series swing of the bat. That\u2019s all. But now let\u2019s fast-forward to Game 3 of the World Series. When, in his very first swing, back in that same home ballpark, Harper had one more moment.<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Bryce Harper with a NO-DOUBTER!! He electrifies the Philly crowd with a first inning home run!\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gDDtk_4OMHo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>So let\u2019s think about this. This man hit a go-ahead home run on the <em>last <\/em>pitch he saw at home in the LCS, and then bombed another go-ahead home run on the <em>first <\/em>pitch he saw at home in the World Series. And my first thought was: Who does that? And that answer, according to STATS, was \u2026 <em>of course nobody, since the beginning of LCS time, has ever done that. \u2026 <\/em>Because \u2026 Bryce Harper \u2026 keeping this column in business since age 19.<\/p>\n<h2>Ten Strange But True Reader Favorites of the Year<\/h2>\n<p>Finally, you know what makes these Strange But True columns possible? Well, baseball! But also \u2026 you guys!<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m always inspired by every one of you who love baseball, love the weirdness of the sport, keep me updated on all the weirdness you see, and often tell me this is your favorite column on this whole amazing site.<\/p>\n<p>So I did something this year I\u2019d love to turn into an annual tradition. I asked for <em>your <\/em>favorite Strange But True highlights of 2022. Some of these came from your suggestions on our site. (You\u2019ll be the ones identified with a first name and last initial.) The rest came from Twitter, where so many of you reached out to me.<\/p>\n<p>Sorry I couldn\u2019t include all of your brilliant ideas. But I love these 10. So \u2026 thank you!<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4040656\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-image-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4040656 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28110817\/USATSI_18987758-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28110817\/USATSI_18987758-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28110817\/USATSI_18987758-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28110817\/USATSI_18987758-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28110817\/USATSI_18987758-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28110817\/USATSI_18987758-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-credits\">\n<div class=\"inline-credits-container\">\n      <span class=\"table-cell-span\"\/><br \/>\n      <span class=\"credits-text\">Jeff McNeil pulled off quite the comeback to win the National League batting crown. (Wendell Cruz \/ USA Today)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>1. THE UNLIKELY BATTING CHAMP \u2014 <\/strong>Loyal reader Eric Orns has been helping me unearth epic Strange But Trueness for years. But he outdid himself this year, when he pointed out that the Mets\u2019 Jeff McNeil just won the National League batting title even though \u2026 <em>he never led the league for even one day from April through September \u2026 <\/em>and also \u2026 as late as Sept. 21, <em>he was still trailing Freddie Freeman by 16 points (.330-.314).<\/em><\/p>\n<p>So I asked my friends from STATS Perform if we\u2019d ever seen a batting champ like this. And Eric will be delighted to know that question almost blew up their computers. <em>Turns out that looking at every player\u2019s batting average on every day of every season is hard. <\/em>Who knew! But anyway, after multitudinous numbers of hours of research from STATS, the answer is \u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>The April-September part: <\/strong>Just FYI, I\u2019m throwing out those tricky situations where a player led the league but then dropped out when he no longer had enough playing time to qualify. (Buster Posey\/Melky Cabrera in 2012 comes to mind.) So if we go with that, it makes McNeil the first batting champ not to lead his league at any point in April through September since \u2026 <em>Harry Heilmann in 1925!<\/em> (Heilmann didn\u2019t pass Tris Speaker until the last day of the season, Oct. 4.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>The 16-point comeback part: <\/strong>Hoo boy, what a question! We\u2019ll spare you how complicated that one was to figure out and just let you know that \u2026 only one batting champ in the last 111 years ever came from farther back than McNeil\u2019s 16-point hole after games of Sept. 21. In 1911, Honus Wagner stormed from 17 points behind to beat out Chief Meyers, for his seventh (and final) batting title.<\/p>\n<p>So Eric, great questions. Just try to keep it simpler next time. Asking for a friend!<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. IMMACULATE DEPRESSION DEPT. \u2014 <\/strong>Loyal reader Jeff K. was one of many who wanted to know about the spectacular immaculate-inning epidemic in Texas this year. But since Jeff came up with that \u201cImmaculate Depression Dept.\u201d headline, let\u2019s tip our cap to him!<\/p>\n<p>So a bunch of you thought that a team (the Astros) throwing two immaculate innings in the same game (June 15) \u2026 <em>against the same three Rangers hitters <\/em>\u2026 was as Strange But True as it gets, huh? Correct! So let\u2019s tell you how strange.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The Rangers hadn\u2019t been the victims of even one immaculate inning since April 29, 1990. And I\u2019m guessing the three hitters involved in this immaculate daily double don\u2019t recall that one too well \u2026 since Nathaniel Lowe and Ezequiel Duran <em>hadn\u2019t made their debut on Planet Earth yet<\/em> \u2014 and Brad Miller was <em>6 months old<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Since that game, the Rangers had played 5,060 games \u2014 with no immaculate innings. And then they had two of them <em>in the same game<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 In between those games, many assorted Rangers hitters had accumulated 174,338 at-bats \u2026 35,492 strikeouts \u2026 in <em>over 45,000<\/em> <em>innings<\/em> \u2026 and had still avoided any immaculate innings. But then in this game, they had two of them in a span of 21 at-bats \u2026 and 15 strikeouts \u2026 and six innings. <em>Because of course they did<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4040677\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-image-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4040677 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28111825\/USATSI_18926979-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28111825\/USATSI_18926979-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28111825\/USATSI_18926979-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28111825\/USATSI_18926979-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28111825\/USATSI_18926979-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28111825\/USATSI_18926979-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-credits\">\n<div class=\"inline-credits-container\">\n      <span class=\"table-cell-span\"\/><br \/>\n      <span class=\"credits-text\">The Orioles went from 52 wins in 2021 to 83 wins in 2022. (Jessica Rapfogel \/ USA Today)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>3. THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE-DOWN \u2014 <\/strong>Thanks to loyal reader Toby M. for pointing out just how bizarre baseball can be in any season \u2026 and, actually, every season. He did that by firing a bunch of Strange But True classics at me, but you can\u2019t beat this one.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What happened in 2021? <\/strong>The Giants won 107 games. That was the most wins in baseball. \u2026 And the Orioles lost 110 games. That was the most losses in baseball.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yeah, but what happened in 2022? <\/strong><em>The Orioles won more games (83) than the Giants (81)!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>4. THE PRICE YOU PAY \u2014 <\/strong>As loyal reader Vinnie B. pointed out, time can be the Strangest But Truest concept to grasp in baseball. And he illustrated that brilliantly, with this tidbit:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who was the first pick in the 2007 MLB Draft? <\/strong>That would be David Price. Who just announced he doesn\u2019t plan to pitch next year, after a great 14-year career.<\/p>\n<p><strong>And who was the 186th player picked in that 2007 draft? <\/strong>That would be Reds reliever Fernando Cruz, <em>who finally made his major-league debut this year \u2026 <\/em>15 years after the Royals took him in the sixth round.<\/p>\n<p>You say goodbye. I say hello. Baseball!<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. WORK IN PROGRESS(IVE) \u2014 <\/strong>Loyal reader Mike Fisher of Codify Baseball is having a big day in this column! Well, he\u2019s back. What was so Strange But True about Guardians pitcher Cal Quantrill\u2019s October? Here\u2019s what:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cal Quantrill at Progressive Field, regular-season career:<\/strong> 34 starts, 0 losses<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cal Quantrill at Progressive Field, in this postseason:<\/strong> 1 start, 1 loss<\/p>\n<p>Now let\u2019s explain. Regular-season Cal Quantrill: 14-0 lifetime in his home park in Cleveland, which ties him with Vic Raschi (14-0 at old Comiskey Park) for the most wins without a loss in any ballpark since 1901. Postseason Cal Quantrill: Lost to the Yankees in ALDS Game 4 at this same park.<\/p>\n<p>But hey, guess what? Despite the minor technicality that he lost a game there in October, <em>he still gets to hold that record and claim to be undefeated <\/em>\u2026 because baseball doesn\u2019t mix regular-season and postseason stats, but also because \u2026 <em>baseball is weird.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>6. THE PENULTIMATE SACRIFICE \u2014 <\/strong>The 2022 Braves had a season-long allergy attack. As loyal reader Paul McCord reports, <em>they were allergic to bunts!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Yes, they were sooooo close to becoming the first team ever to make it through a full season without laying down a single sacrifice bunt. Except then, in Game 161 \u2026<\/p>\n<p>Whaaaat? For the record, manager Brian Snitker spoiled this fun by having Michael Harris II bunt two runners into scoring position, <em>and it still didn\u2019t work <\/em>(thanks to two strikeouts). So will the Braves ever bunt again? That\u2019s actually a question for another day. The real question is, had any team ever made it that deep into any season before its first sac bunt. And that answer is \u2026 <em>of course not<\/em>. No other team has ever come within three months of that. But why do we think, well, <em>that\u2019ll change.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>7. IT\u2019S ALL CYCLICAL \u2014 <\/strong>Just as I was finishing up this column, this late-breaking Strange But True bulletin arrived from loyal reader Alex Friedman, of the Oklahoma City Dodgers. And I had to squeeze it in somewhere, because we love those minor-league Strange But True submissions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Aug. 26: <\/strong>Hot Dodgers prospect James Outman hits for Okie City\u2019s first cycle in 11 years \u2026 and even finishes it off with a walk-off homer. So what could top that? Glad you asked, because \u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Aug. 30: <\/strong>A mere four days (and three games) later, that same James Outman <em>hits for another cycle. <\/em>So \u2026<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s <em>zero <\/em>cycles for this franchise in 11 years \u2026 and then <em>two <\/em>cycles in four days \u2026 <em>by the same player<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. CONGRATS ON THE WIN (OH WAIT, NEVER MIND) \u2014 <\/strong>What\u2019s that old expression in baseball: A win is a win is a win? Hahahaha. Not necessarily!<br \/>A loyal reader (but also an anonymous longtime official scorer), who runs the MLB Scoring Changes Twitter account, reports:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cSix times a pitcher went to sleep with a win \u2026 and woke up without the win (because) it was switched to a different pitcher. Six times! Including Opening Day for the Cubs! Opening Day!\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>So hold on. What\u2019s up with that? It\u2019s one of those official-scorer things that kicks in when the starting pitcher doesn\u2019t make it through five innings \u2026 but his team wins \u2026 so it\u2019s up to the scorer to dole out \u201cthe win\u201d to the reliever who theoretically most deserves it. And as you can see, <em>what could possibly go wrong there?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Hey, maybe, says our friend <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/mobile.twitter.com\/ScoringChanges\" target=\"_blank\">@ScoringChanges<\/a>, that would be the same thing that went wrong on June 15, when the Dodgers\u2019 Tyler Anderson thought he\u2019d taken a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Angels. If you watched that game, you went to bed thinking his bid was dramatically foiled by a Shohei Ohtani triple with one out in the ninth, except, thanks to another pesky retroactive scoring-change thing \u2026 <em>no it wasn\u2019t!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>After it wasn\u2019t a no-hitter, you see, a fifth-inning error got magically transformed into a hit for Jared Walsh. So that whole no-hit bid was an illusion. Unfortunately, those 123 pitches that manager Dave Roberts let Anderson throw trying to finish that no-hitter? They were totally real.<\/p>\n<p>But does it get much Stranger But Truer than watching something happen in baseball, only to have somebody decide afterward it was cool to make it un-happen?<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4040979\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-image-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4040979 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28125536\/USATSI_18636414-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28125536\/USATSI_18636414-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28125536\/USATSI_18636414-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28125536\/USATSI_18636414-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28125536\/USATSI_18636414-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/28125536\/USATSI_18636414-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-credits\">\n<div class=\"inline-credits-container\">\n      <span class=\"table-cell-span\"\/><br \/>\n      <span class=\"credits-text\">How many guys get a Gatorade bath after \u201cstriking out for the cycle\u201d? Well done, Victor! (Jeff Hanisch \/ USA Today)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong> 9. SERVING FOUR BOWLS OF SPECIAL K \u2014 <\/strong>The good news for Brewers catcher Victor Caratini, on July 4, was: He finished his day with a walk-off extra-inning homer against his old friends, the Cubs.<\/p>\n<p>So what was the bad news? As loyal reader JR Radcliffe of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports, before that walk-off, Caratini managed to <em>strike out for the cycle! <\/em>That\u2019s not quite as electrifying as those Christian Yelich cycles we told you about in part one of this Strange But True series. But I know what you\u2019re thinking: <em>What the heck is that?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Here you go: When you whiff on a 3-and-2, 2-and-2, 1-and-2 and 0-and-2 pitch, all in the same game, you\u2019ve just \u201cstruck out for the cycle.\u201d Seems hard to do!<\/p>\n<p><strong>10. ZOMBIE PICKOFF ALERT \u2014 <\/strong>Just when I thought we\u2019d run out of ways for those pesky Zombie Runners to wreak extra-inning havoc, loyal readers like Chris Lauersen come along to remind me just how wrong I am. Thanks, Chris!<\/p>\n<p>So how about this goofy thing that happened in a July 30 Phillies-Pirates game.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Top of the 10th inning: <\/strong>Pirates get the last out by picking Rhys Hoskins off first base.<\/p>\n<p><strong> Bottom of the 10th inning: <\/strong>Phillies get the first out by picking the Zombie Runner, Oneil Cruz, off second base.<\/p>\n<p>OK, do you have this figured out yet? That\u2019s adjoining pickoffs \u2026 <em>of each team<\/em> \u2026 with no plate appearances \u2026 <em>or even anyone else actually reaching base <\/em>\u2026 in between. Once, there was a time when this would have been 100 percent not possible. That time definitely isn\u2019t this time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBack-to-back pickoffs,\u201d Lauersen wrote us. \u201cCan\u2019t get too much weirder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We agree! And there\u2019s only one explanation, as you know \u2026<\/p>\n<p><em>Baseball \u2026 in 2022!<\/em><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>More 2022 Strange But True<\/h3>\n<div class=\"go-deeper\">\n<div class=\"go-deeper-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=128,height=128,fit=cover,format=auto\/app\/uploads\/2022\/09\/19011457\/GettyImages-1409782774-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"go-deeper\" alt=\"go-deeper\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"go-deeper-label\">GO DEEPER<\/p>\n<p class=\"go-deeper-title\">The Year in Strange But True: Judge! Ohtani! And MLB&#8217;s 20 most mind-blowing hitting, pitching feats<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"go-deeper\">\n<div class=\"go-deeper-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=128,height=128,fit=cover,format=auto\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/27131606\/1228-MLB-Strange-1024x512.png\" class=\"go-deeper\" alt=\"go-deeper\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"go-deeper-label\">GO DEEPER<\/p>\n<p class=\"go-deeper-title\">The Year in Strange But True: MLB&#8217;s Weirdest &amp; Wildest games, plays, moments and stats of 2022<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It&#8217;s the last Starkville of 2022. And it&#8217;s so much fun<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dougglanville?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">@dougglanville<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ByMcCullough?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">@ByMcCullough<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/enosarris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">@enosarris<\/a> &amp; I on:<br \/>*Judge<br \/>*Ohtani<br \/>*The wildest things we saw this year<br \/>*Plus Strange But True \u2026 &amp; trivia with <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TylerKepner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">@TylerKepner<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Spotify https:\/\/t.co\/VsSqV4sgFe<br \/>Apple https:\/\/t.co\/QboRtM1WaU <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BKdgkjnu13\">pic.twitter.com\/BKdgkjnu13<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jaysonst\/status\/1605319237383462914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">December 20, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>(Top photo of Dusty Baker: Carmen Mandato \/ Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script>!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n        {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n        n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n        if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n        n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n        t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n        s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n        'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n        fbq('dataProcessingOptions', []);\n        fbq('init', '207679059578897');\n        fbq('track', 'PageView');<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/__i\/rss\/rd\/articles\/CBMiU2h0dHBzOi8vdGhlYXRobGV0aWMuY29tLzQwMzUxNDkvMjAyMi8xMi8yOS9tbGItMjAyMi13ZWlyZC1pbmp1cmllcy13aWxkLXBvc3RzZWFzb24v0gFZaHR0cHM6Ly90aGVhdGhsZXRpYy5jb20vNDAzNTE0OS8yMDIyLzEyLzI5L21sYi0yMDIyLXdlaXJkLWluanVyaWVzLXdpbGQtcG9zdHNlYXNvbi8_YW1wPTE?oc=5\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] So \u2026 did you hear the one about the baseball player who got hurt punching his locker after giving up a hit to his<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","two-columns"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-1439849373-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}