After nearly 2,000 plate appearances, A.J. Ellis stole his first career base
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Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis made his Major League debut on Sept. 15, 2008. His first hit came in the 10th plate appearance of his career. His first home run came in his 200th plate appearance. But he waited until after his 1,904th career plate appearance during the second inning of the Dodgers' 3-1 loss to the Rays on Wednesday to do this:
No, your eyes do not deceive you. In his 537th game, Ellis stole his first base. He tried a few times before Wednesday -- including once this year -- but was caught every time. The historical wait must make this swipe extra sweet.
And don't worry, Ellis seems to appreciate the momentous occasion: "I called [umpire] Marvin Hudson over and asked if I could have the bag right then, but he said no, I had to wait until the inning's over," he told MLB.com's Ken Gurnick after the game. Fortunately, Clayton Kershaw took care of that:
The Dodgers scored their only run of the game on the play, as Luke Maile's throw went into center field -- probably because he couldn't actually believe Ellis successfully swiped second. But as steal expert Dave Roberts takes Ellis to the dinner (he owes his catcher from a bet they made in Spring Training), the rest of MLB turns to what remains the longest steal-less streak in baseball: