Randy Choate drew a walk in his first at-bat in over 11 years
Randy Choate drew a walk in his first AB in 11 years
From April 27, 2004, until Monday, May 18, 2015, Randy Choate had the same number of big league plate appearances as I did: Namely, zero.
And while I have the general athletic ability of an overripe potato, Choate has appeared in 526 regular-season games, totaling 289 1/3 innings.
All of that came to an end on Tuesday, though. With the Cardinals leading the Mets 10-2 in the top of the ninth, the reliever who was a career 0-for-5 with three strikeouts (with another at-bat and strikeout in the postseason), stepped to the plate. After working the count full, he took a pitch well off the inside corner from Jack Leathersich and took his base.
His teammates were quite amused.
Despite the success, I don't imagine we'll see Choate making any pinch-hitting appearances later this season.