May 21, 2009

Ellsbury: 12 Putouts

Jacoby Ellsbury became the third major-league outfielder in history to record 12 putouts in a nine-inning game.
I got off to a busy start. It didn't seem like that many but I just got quite a few from the get-go [eight in the first four innings]. ... [Jason Bay and I] were joking that if there were any ball hit even down the line, I'd call him off and he'd say he lost it in the lights.
The other two times also happened in Boston:
Earl Clark, Braves, May 10, 1929 vs Reds
Lyman Bostock, Twins, May 25, 1977 at Red Sox
In the sixth inning, Lyndon broke the Red Sox record of 10 putouts, which had been held by four outfielders:
Ted Williams, September 4, 1948 at Athletics
Tommy Umphlett, August 16, 1953 vs Senators
Fred Lynn, June 4, 1978 at Angels
Lee Tinsley, August 14, 1995 vs Yankees
The box score for the 1978 game credits Lynn with only nine putouts, but I did count 10 in the play-by-play account.

David Ortiz, on hitting his first home run of 2009:
I feel good, man, I feel like I just got that big ol' monkey off my back. In this game sometimes that's all it takes, to have a good at-bat, to get a good hit, and then everything starts clicking. ...

I was missing pitches I normally hit, or sometimes put a good swing on it and still miss. That's crazy, it gets you thinking. It puts you in a situation where you're thinking, "What do I have to do?" I'll try it all. I was about to hit right-handed.
Big Papi's papi was in the stands last night.

Jason Varitek has his eighth multi-homer game last night and his first since August 16, 2005. ... Kevin Youkilis picked up right where he left off, getting three hits last night and boosting his batting average to .409.

7 comments:

Benjamin said...

Heidi Watney's post-game interview seemed pretty brutal at the time.

(paraphrasing)
Heidi: So walk us through that at-bat.
Papi: Yeah, ummmm, I feel good and the fans really cheer for me.
Heidi: So did you feel you had the fans' support?
Papi: I’ve been here seven years, and that’s what I hear every time I come to the plate —- the fans cheering for you.

English isn't his first language, but he's probably a meathead in Spanish too. Gotta love him anyway.

allan said...

Wait -- HE'S a meathead?

"You saw the big standing ovation after you circled the bases and the PAPI chants. How did that make you feel?"

I mean, come on. What is he supposed to say to stuff like that (not a real Heidi quote as far as I know):

"I hate it. ... Shit, Heidi, you fucking moron, how do you think I feel? I feel GOOD. I like being cheered. Good god, you're pretty and all, but Jesus, Tek must be half-fucking-deaf to have you around. ... What is your next brain-teaser? Do I enjoy being paid $13 million a year?"

Lisa Cohen said...

It was a most excellent night to be at Fenway for baseball. The crowd really did go completely wild when Papi hit that homer. And to see Tek blast 2 last night was a real treat.

We had some international conflict, though--a group of kids from Canada sat in front of us, cheering on the Blue jays and some Sox fans behind us got pissed and kept throwing crap. I didn't really mind the collateral damage of the peanuts--hey--free food, except one landed in my beer.

But they also threw some trash and that wasn't cool. One of the Sox fans behind us got ejected for starting a fight (but not with the Canadians--it was a little weird) and after that things were a little calmer.

A little tyke just one row back was there with his dad for his first sox game. :)

allan said...

Laura got home and I filled her in and she wondered if any JoSers were there. Great night to be at the park! felt like the biggest game of the year for awhile in the fifth!

Benjamin said...

I mean, come on. What is he supposed to say to stuff like that

He picked the subject. She tried to ask him about the at bat, and he changed the subject with unrelated blather.

Athlete interviews are always cringeworthy, and Heidi isn't great, but he didn't even attempt to answer the question.

seano said...

I'm going through that Freddy Lynn game from '78 and I keep counting only 9 putouts. 2 in the 2nd, 1 in the 3rd, 1 in the 4th, 1 in the 5th, 2 in the 6th, 1 in the 7th, 1 in the 8th. Also, the box score putouts do add up correctly to 24, so if Lynn actually did have 10, then someone else had one less than the box score indicates. Can anyone else figure this out?

allan said...

I count 9 also. How did I get 10? I thought I missed the sac fly before, but I still get 9.

I emailed Sean Forman (Mr. B-Ref).