This is called taking one for the team.
Andrew Vaughn, who had played first base, second base, third base, right field, left field and designated hitter in 738 previous major-league games over six seasons, made his pitching debut for the Milwaukee Brewers against the San Francisco Giants.
The Giants already had rung up 13 runs off four Brewers pitchers through the first seven innings when manager Pat Murphy decided to give his bullpen a rest.
Vaughn, who was the national college player of the year as a sophomore at Cal, was sent to the mound instead of one of the Brewers’ regular pitchers. He hadn’t pitched since making a single relief appearance as a sophomore with the Bears.
It did not go well.
Daniel Susac led off the eighth and greeted Vaughn with a 379-foot home runs to left-centerfield, his second home of the game and just his second of his career.
“Trying to throw knuckleballs,” Vaughn told the Milwaukee Sentinel. “That’s the farthest 60 feet 6 inches has ever felt.”
Vaughn walked Drew Gilbert but got a force play at second base for the inning’s first out. He then struck out recent call-up Osleivis Basabe, making his first MLB plate appearance, before walking Bryce Eldridge. Back-to-back singles by Heliot Ramos and pinch-hitter Drew Cavanaugh made it 16-3.
Vaughn got Jung Hoo Lee to ground out, ending the inning.
But his pitching line was 1 inning, 3 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 strikeout, 2 walks and 1 home run.
Assuming Vaughn never throws another pitch in the majors, he’ll retire someday with a career earned run average of 27.00.
Things have gone much better for Vaughn this season at the plate, where he is hitting .309 this season, used primarily in a platoon arrangement with fellow first baseman Jake Bauers. Vaughn walked in his only at-bat Wednesday after entering the game as a pinch-hitter and playing briefly at third base.
Despite the loss, Milwaukee is 67-41 and holds a 5.5-game lead over the Chicago Cubs atop the NL Central Division.
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