Bad day at the office? Probably not as discouraging as the day LA Dodger center fielder John Shelby had on this date (June 3) in 1989. On that day, Shelby not only had to work overtime, away from home in a losing cause – his Dodgers lost to the hometown Houston Astros 5-4 in 22 innings (7 hours and 14 minutes) – he also tied the MLB record for the most at bats without a hit in a single game.
Shelby, a switch-hitting outfielder, started the contest in center field, batting sixth. He came to the plate ten times, faced six different pitchers and contributed four outfield fly outs, one infield popup, two swinging strikeouts and three ground outs (one a fielder’s choice, when the Astros chose to force the runner at second, but did not turn a double play). For the day, a neat zero-for-ten … tying the MLB record for most at bats without a hit in the game.
BBRT Note: Shelby’s truly “off-day” tied the record for futility set by the Mets’ Wayne Garrett on September 11, 1974 – when he went zero-for-ten in a Mets’ 25-innning 3-2 loss to the Cardinals. Garrett’s performance could be judged slightly less futile, since he did draw a walk in the first inning, before running up is “O-for” day.
Shelby started the game hitting just .163 on the season (his averaged dropped to .153 by game’s end) and had gone hitless in his previous 16 at bats. He also found some bad luck on the bases. Remember that fielder’s choice that put Shelby on first? It came in the third inning and Shelby (who eventually advanced to third base) was thrown out catcher-to-pitcher trying to score on a wild pitch. Had he scored, perhaps extra innings would have been avoided and, of course, he would have missed his chance at the record book.
For those who like more background – as I know many BBRT readers do – Shelby ended the 1989 season with a .183 average, one home run and 12 RBI in 108 games. Over his eleven-year MLB career (Orioles, Dodgers, Tigers), Shelby hit .239, with 70 home runs, 313 RBI and 98 stolen bases. His best year was 1987, when he hit .277, with 21 home runs, 69 RBI and 16 steals in 120 games for the Dodgers.
A few additional facts about the game:
- The Saturday night game ended at 2:50 Sunday morning.
- The two teams were back on the field 10 hours and 45 minutes later, for a Sunday afternoon 1:35 start – a game which was won by the Astros 7-6 in 13 innings.
- The losing pitcher in the 22-inning game was the Dodgers’ Jeff Hamilton, who started the game at third base.
- The winning run was driven in by Astros’ shortstop Rafael Ramirez – on a line drive to right field that tipped the glove of first baseman (pitcher) Fernando Valenzuela. (In the 21st inning, Dodgers’ manager Tommy Lasorda moved 3B Jeff Hamilton to pitcher and first baseman Eddie Murray to third base, bringing in pitcher Valenzuela to play first.)
- The two teams used a total of 44 players.
- The two teams went scoreless for 15 consecutive innings – the seventh through the 21st.
