In A Pickle

The Raul Ibanez Special

by Jason Wojciechowski

Today is one of those days when everybody is alike. One-day-old babies and 103-year-old grandfathers can sit down and converse (well, sorta) about how neither of them has seen anything like what happened yesterday. By which I mean: no manager has ever pinch-hit for a 100-WARP future Hall-of-Famer making $31 million with a 40-year-old late-blooming pretty-good-but-not-really-memorable player and had that pinch-hitter go on to hit a game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth and a walk-off homer in extra innings of a playoff game. This has never happened, and we should all be rejoicing. (Except Orioles fans. You're exempt.)

Is that perhaps an overly specific way of defining what happened in yesterday's Orioles-Yankees contest as regards Alex Rodriguez and Raul Ibanez? You could say that. If you're the nitpicking type. But fine, I'll broaden the question.

Here's a list of players who have hit two homers in two at-bats in a playoff game after not starting the game:

Raul Ibanez, 10/10/12 vs. Orioles

Still unique! How about removing the at-bat requirement, simply leaving players who have hit two or more homers in a playoff game after not starting:

Raul Ibanez, 10/10/12 vs. Orioles

Well! What about two homers in two trips to the plate in the playoffs, whether as a sub or not?

Raul Ibanez, 10/10/12 vs. Orioles

This one is perhaps less surprising — what are the odds that a player who has hit two homers in his first two at-bats would be substituted out of the game? It would require an injury or ejection, presumably.

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