Toronto Blue Jays catcher ends up pitching and he throws ridiculously slow
Toronto Blue Jays catcher Ali Sanchez probably wasn’t expecting to find himself on the mound when he showed up to the ballpark on Tuesday.
But with Toronto getting blown out by the Baltimore Orioles in the first game of a day-night doubleheader, that’s exactly what ended up happening.
With Toronto down 14-4 in the eighth inning and not wanting to further tax their bullpen, they opted to put in Sanchez for the final inning of relief.
One of Sanchez’s pitches came in at just 35.3 miles per hour, or 56.8 kilometres per hour. It ended up striking out Orioles batter Alex Jackson, who was probably miffed by the ridiculous speed.
Per Nick Ashbourne, it’s the second-slowest pitch ever recorded in the Statcast era (since 2015) to earn a swinging strike.
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Sanchez’s slowest pitch went just 32.5 miles per hour, or around 52 kilometres per hour.
His fastest pitch on the day, for reference, went at 77 miles per hour, or around 123 kilometres per hour. That’s better, but still 10 to 15 miles off the minimum speed you’d expect from a professional pitcher’s best stuff. (For comparison’s sake, Toronto starter Easton Lucas touched 97 miles per hour on the radar gun with his best pitch on Tuesday.)
Sanchez’s final line came in at one inning pitched, two earned runs, and three hits allowed, for an 18.00 ERA.
Sanchez is the third Blue Jays position player to suit up as a pitcher this season, with Michael Stefanic and Tyler Heineman also getting a go on the mound for an inning each earlier this year.
There’s specific criteria for when a position player can pitch in the MLB rulebook, implemented in 2023. Those not listed as pitchers can only pitch if the game is in extra innings, their team is trailing by at least eight runs at any point, or their team is winning by at least 10 runs in the ninth inning.
With Toronto in the market for some extra bullpen arms ahead of this week’s MLB trade deadline, perhaps Sanchez might be the last such instance this year.
But while the game was largely forgettable for much of the rest of the roster, at least he’ll have an experience that will last him a lifetime.
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