O's like Sisco in leadoff, this time as catcher

The whole catcher-hitting-leadoff thing worked so well for the Orioles, they’re doing it again. It might even become a thing.

That became clear on Wednesday, when manager Brandon Hyde wrote in Chance Sisco at the top of his lineup against the Blue Jays for the second straight day, as the O’s look to keep their offense humming with José Iglesias and Austin Hays on the injured list. Sisco served as the designated hitter when he hit leadoff on Tuesday, homering and walking in five plate appearances in his debut batting first.

• Iglesias (left quad) to IL: 'Right thing to do'

Sisco was behind the plate on Wednesday, making some history in the process. He became the third Orioles catcher to bat leadoff, and the first since Floyd “Sugar Bear” Rayford did so on June 26, 1985. Rayford enjoyed the assignment exactly twice; before Rayford, Curt Blefary led off for three games in April 1968.

Sisco went 0-for-4 in Baltimore's 5-2 loss to Toronto, walking once and striking out once.

“I don’t know if this is going to be an everyday thing, so I am going to play with it a little bit,” Hyde said. “Anthony Santander and some of our middle-order guys swinging the bat as well as they are, I am trying to get somebody there who gets on base. I feel like Chance is the best chance to get on base for these guys as much as possible. He isn’t your typical leadoff hitter, but we don’t really have one, either.”

Hyde isn’t afraid to move guys around the lineup. As a rookie manager last year, he used 64 lineups before repeating one, eventually settling on Hanser Alberto in the leadoff spot against left-handed pitching and Jonathan Villar there against righties. Villar is gone now. Hays began the year hitting leadoff, but Hyde moved him down as he slumped pre-injury. Alberto, who is hitting .316 and leads the Majors in doubles and the American League in hits, hit fifth on Wednesday.

Then there is Sisco, who has been reaching base at an excellent clip. The third-year backstop has a .465 OBP and nine walks as part of baseball’s best catching tandem with Pedro Severino. More than a third of the way through the season, Severino and Sisco rank first and second, respectively, in AL catcher WAR.

“He’s a totally different player for me right now, both offensively and defensively.” Hyde said of Sisco. “That’s why I feel comfortable putting him up there. He’s not chasing out of the strike zone. … I love the increased confidence defensively, also. He’s just playing like he belongs here for me this year.”

How novel is it for a catcher to lead off? In the modern game, not as much as you might think. Yes, Sisco is slow (3 percent sprint speed, per Statcast), but it’s the on-base skills that teams tend to value at the top of a lineup these days, no matter the motor beneath them.

Certain big names hit leadoff a handful of times over the years, from Craig Biggio in the late 1980s to Jason Kendall and Paul Lo Duca in the early 2000s. But it didn’t become a quasi-regular thing until Russell Martin and John Jaso in the early 2010s; since then, J.T. Realmuto (for the Marlins), Travis d’Arnaud (Rays) and Yasmani Grandal (Brewers) have done so for long stretches. But the best example is Mitch Garver, who batted leadoff last season for a Twins team that broke all sorts of offensive records. Garver hit 31 homers in a career year.