Is Steve Wilkerson the next JD Martinez?

[AceKing]

1 hour ago, bobmc said:

 

 

This might be the greatest gif in history.

Just look how the hitter goes from the hitting position all the way to looking into the dugout in disbelief.

Awesome

[OFFNY]

4 hours ago, OFFNY said:

o

 

(JULY 25th)

 

Steve Wilkerson has a 2.25 ERA and an 0.500 WHIP in 4 Innings Pitched so far this season.

 

o

o

 

If Wilkerson had caught that ball in the bottom of the 7th inning, much of what happened after that play may not have occurred ........ fate sometimes makes truth wind up being stranger than fiction.

 

o

[weams]

Next Doug Jones

[Tony-OH]

1 hour ago, interloper said:

And that cements Wilkerson as an O's legend. Or at least an OH legend lol. 

Rivals the 16 inning (was it 17?) Red Sox Chris Davis game for sure. 

There is little doubt Wilkerson is carving himself into a folk lore legend. 

[spiritof66]

3 hours ago, DrungoHazewood said:

So I could be wrong, but I looked at the list of non-pitchers pitching, and this might be the last time a random position player came in to get a save in the majors.  1927, Jimmy Dykes, for the Philadelphia A's.  Dykes went on to become the modern Orioles' first manager in 1954.  Of course 1927 was about 35 years before the Save was a thing so nobody made any special fuss about it.  

There have been other times since then where someone listed by bb-ref as a non-pitcher got a save, but I think all of those were players who were pitchers who then completely converted to a position or vice-versa.  They weren't just utility infielders or shortstops or something who got tapped to pitch an inning.  Willie Smith is the gray area, since he pitched some throughout his career in the 60s, and was really a two-way player.

Edit: The Sun's story says Wilkerson was the first position player to ever earn a save, and that's clearly not true.  But they probably use the very strict definition of player who started the game at another position, during the era where saves were an official stat.

A few irrelevant facts about Dykes:

His first name is sometimes spelled Jimmie, other times Jimmy. I don't know why. His Baseball Reference entry uses both spellings.

Dykes is frequently said to have been a favorite of A's manager Connie Mack. I believe most of the other ballplayers who are referred to as Mack favorites (other than his sons) were great players like Eddie Collins and Mickey Cochrane. 

Dykes succeeded Mack as the Athletics' manager in 1951, when Mack was 88, though Mack was hoping to name his son Earle as his successor.

Dykes and I went to the same high school. (I don't remember him, but since he was born in 1896 he must have been there ahead of me.) He's buried a couple of miles from where I grew up.

[BohKnowsBmore]

3 hours ago, interloper said:

And that cements Wilkerson as an O's legend. Or at least an OH legend lol. 

Rivals the 16 inning (was it 17?) Red Sox Chris Davis game for sure. 

As it was a part of the 2012 "Buckle Up Birds," the latter will always have the leg up in my mind.

[sevastras]

1 hour ago, Tony-OH said:

There is little doubt Wilkerson is carving himself into a folk lore legend. 

Kind of the opposite of Lew Ford.  I bet Wilkerson saves puppies rather than ripping them to pieces in front of children.

[Ruzious]

2 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

There is little doubt Wilkerson is carving himself into a folk lore legend. 

What would make it complete is if Lenn Sakata comes out of retirement to catch for him, and then Wilkerson picks off 3 runners at 1st.  Too much to ask?  Ok, we'll get Tippy Martinez to catch.  

[yeoledugger]

Wilkerson has a great “drop” pitch.  It is a wonder why pitchers do not use it occasionally during a game.  Maybe they are afraid it will mess up their mechanics.

[Enjoy Terror]

1 hour ago, sevastras said:

Kind of the opposite of Lew Ford.  I bet Wilkerson saves puppies rather than ripping them to pieces in front of children.

You're confusing Stevie with Alex Cobb

[interloper]

I'm wondering if teams might start asking about Stevie instead of Villar or Hanser. Not for his heroics last night, but just because he can play anywhere, has some pop, good energy guy, hits righties pretty well. Don't often find a guy who can play CF and MI. And, uh, pitch? 

[Sessh]

The king of all soft tossers and hitters have big problems squaring up anything he throws. He actually gets some side movement on that thing as well. I like Wilkerson more and more though I really thought Davis was going to pitch last night.

[DrungoHazewood]

2 hours ago, BohKnowsBmore said:

As it was a part of the 2012 "Buckle Up Birds," the latter will always have the leg up in my mind.

It's a little different when put in the context of a team that was in first place on the heels of so many horrible seasons, and then ended up in the playoffs.  Wilkerson is a cool footnote in what's likely a 50-win season.

[Greg Pappas]

Could Wilkerson learn to throw a knuckler 

[Legend_Of_Joey]

14 minutes ago, Greg Pappas said:

Could Wilkerson learn to throw a knuckler 

You mean he wasn't already?

Maybe he can work on an off speed pitch...