No one has ever wanted to take an at-bat less than Cubs closer Steve Cishek

Remember when you were a kid, and your parents signed you up for Little League, and there was so much you still didn't know about the world, and all of a sudden you found yourself with a bat in your hand facing another kid throwing a very hard ball in your general direction, and the only thing you were concerned about was how much that ball was going to hurt if it plunked you?

That was Steve Cishek in the top of the ninth inning of Sunday night's Cubs-Nationals game:

On the one hand, Cishek is Chicago's closer -- it's his job to put out fires and lock down wins, not stick around long enough to take some hacks against Major League pitching. He had just nine at-bats in 10 years heading into Sunday.

On the other hand, you could fit two more Steve Cisheks in the space between Cishek and home plate:

Amazingly enough, Cishek actually made contact, grounding out to second to end the inning. He then sat Washington down 1-2-3 in the ninth to notch his fourth save of the year, because fear is the best motivator.