Orioles’ Outfielder Steve Wilkerson Gets 1st Major League Save Ever by a Position Player

The use of position players as pitchers has become more common, generally in blowout games where clubs don’t want to use up actual pitcher’s arms in lost cause games. But in the Baltimore Orioles–Los Angeles Angels game of July 25th (which extended into the 26th, outfielder Steve Wilkerson of Baltimore made some history on the mound.

The game was tied after nine innings, and in the top of the 15th, the Orioles scored three runs only to see the Angels match that. It was on to the 16th. Jonathan Villar hit a two run homer for Baltimore in the top of the inning, and the Orioles led once again going to the bottom of the 16th.

Baltimore had already used nine pitchers in the game, and with the game on the line and a save situation, brought Wilkerson in for his third relief appearance of the season. Wilkerson didn’t try to do anything fancy; essentially he lobbed what could be described as a combination junk ball–(really) slow curve at Brian Goodwin, Kole Calhoun, and future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols and retired all three to get his first big league save preserving a 10-8 16 inning victory for the Orioles. It was more historic than that; since saves became an actual statistic in 1969, no position player had ever recorded one in the majors until now.

Probably few Oriole fans, at least those back in Baltimore, witnessed the event. The game ended at about 1:30 in the morning Pacific Time, or 4:30 Eastern.