Baltimore Orioles center fielder Stevie Wilkerson made MLB history Thursday night by becoming the first position player to record a save as the Orioles held on to beat the LA Angels 10-8 in 16 innings.
Wilkerson played 15 innings in center field before being moved to the mound to pitch the bottom of the 16th with the Orioles holding a 10-8 lead. He had made two prior appearances on the mound during the month of July, pitching a total of 3 innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits with a strikeout.
This time around, Wilkerson threw 14 pitches, recording three outs on three batters with two fly outs and a ground out. Most of Wilkerson's pitches were 55 miles per hour or less. The final out was a short fly ball by Albert Pujols.
MLB has only been tracking statistics on saves since 1969. Still, for a player to do something that hasn't been done in baseball within the last 50 years is pretty remarkable.
[Video via MLB. H/T Fox News.]
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
