Anyone Can Pitch: 2019

 That's right- I still have to post some of these.

In 2018, I did a recurring series called Anyone Can Pitch, where I documented examples of the growing trend of position players being brought in to pitch, and it went well enough that I decided to collect photos for it throughout 2019.

...but I was too lazy to MAKE any of these customs until last week.

Right. As 2020 customs are right around the corner, might as well finish off the last of the 2019 ones, so let's examine each of these, as well as how well they did on the mound.

Pablo Sandoval made a pitching appearance in 2018 as well, so this is not his first appearance in this subset, but his inning of work was a bit more well known this year, as it went with Pablo's scorching May and June in SF. Sandoval had a pretty immaculate frame, not allowing any hits or runs, but also letting the defense do most of the work. Hope he winds up doing another inning some time in 2020.

 Mike Brosseau was one of the many Rays rookies to grace the infield this year, and as impressive as he was at the plate, he was a little more refined on the mound. Brosseau, interestingly, had 3 appearances this year, averaging a 4.50 ERA while giving up 2 earned runs total. For the Rays, it's interesting having a guy like Brosseau as a potential two-way guy, especially considering the presence of Brendan McKay, a more pronounced two-way pitcher. Still, at least his ERA isn't too bloated.

 No, a more bloated ERA would belong to Cubs backup catcher Victor Caratini, who came in for 2 appearances as a pitcher this year, additionally giving up 2 earned runs with a 9 ERA. Surprisingly, given the team's split records, both of these snakebitten appearances came at home.

 Similarly, Chris Davis, aka the single most useless player in the major leagues right now, took a break from batting under the Mendoza line and stinking up the Orioles lineup in order to take the mound early in the season against the Twins. Given the potency of the Twins' lineup, it shouldn't shock you that Crush allowed a home run himself. Said homer he allowed over the course of an inning of play is made even more pathetic by the fact that Chris averaged 105 innings in between hitting home runs this year. He finished the year with 9.

 Now, if you want a home-run hitter who can actually...HIT home runs, I direct you to Yankee first baseman Mike Ford, who allowed two himself, and 5 earned runs, during 2 innings on the mound. Ford finished his appearance with a 22.50 ERA. Take THAT, Luke Voit.

 These Anyone Can Pitch cards also give pictures of players who're just trying to get innings for teams that may not be their most well-known. Caleb Joseph, former Orioles catcher, was a backup for the Diamondbacks in April, and his playing time went so well that he found himself pitching to the person who took his job, Carson Kelly. In two appearances, one to Kelly and one to John Ryan Murphy, he faced four batters and allowed no hits or runs, which is all you can ask for from a position player pitching.

 Russell Martin being in this series was good, as I had a lot of photos of him to choose from on the mound, considering that he made four appearances over the course of the season. He only allowed 2 hits over the course of 13 batters, ANNNNND had two strikeouts, which is a pretty big deal not only for a position player, but for a guy who might be playing his final season (no one has signed him yet for 2020).

 As his role as an infielder in Boston continued to lessen, Eduardo Nunez found himself making his first pitching appearance last year, giving up one earned run in four batters, and earning a 9 ERA.

 Meanwhile, as he was in the midst of a come-up in Pittsburgh, Jose Osuna took time out from his solid bench work to pitch 2.1 innings over the course of the season, coming up with a relatively human ERA of 3.86, and giving up a few hits and an earned run. I was going to end this paragraph with a badly-worded Felipe Vazquez joke, but then I decided it'd be in poor taste.

 Onto happier pastures here- Gerardo Parra, deified in Washington along with the use of a truly annoying song for two-year-olds, also made a pitching appearance in 2019, though it didn't go especially well, as Parra allowed a run for each of the five batters he faced, leaving with an infinite ERA. Thankfully, things would get better for the Nationals.

 Another guy in likely his last season, Mark Reynolds distracted from his subpar hitting off the bench for the Rockies in order to try the mound again (it went alright in 2018). His 2018 numbers were way better, as Reynolds endured an 18 ERA, and 2 earned runs over an inning.

 Another Rays infielder trying his hand at pitching, Daniel Robertson had a frame IDENTICAL to a similar line of pitching from 2018. 1 inning, 3 batters, no earned runs. Only difference is he allowed a hit, but a double-play righted things.

 Before being traded midyear, Max Stassi was struggling at the plate as the backup catcher for those...formerly-lovable Astros. Also, let's face it, with a face like this, Stassi belongs as a goon in a James Cagney film.
Anyway, pitching. He did that. He faced one batter, got them out. This kind of stat won't be appearing at all in the future.

 Jared Walsh was brought up as a potential two-way successor to Shohei Ohtani and Kaleb Cowart. This being said, Walsh's five appearances bring a stat line that looks a lot like one you'd see from a  professional reliever- a 1.80 ERA, 5 strikeouts, and 3 hits over 23 batters. Not bad for a start.

Finally, Baltimore bench favorite Stevie Wilkerson also made some mound appearances in 2019, 4 to be exact. While Wilkerson was responsible for a strikeout AND a save (rare for Baltimore pitchers), he did balloon his ERA to 6.75 due to allowing 4 earned runs.

Already. That's all the 2019 content I've got. Soon enough, you will see some 2020 CUSTOMS ON THIS BLOG. SPRING TRAINING CUSTOMS. WOO-HOO.