San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40) takes a swing at a pitch while pinch hitting against the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth inning at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015. He was walked. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND – It’s been 40 years since a major league manager intentionally forfeited the designated hitter in an American League ballpark. Bruce Bochy is about to buck convention.
He’s going to let Madison Bumgarner hit for himself Thursday against the A’s at the Coliseum.
The Giants are extremely short of right-handed hitters, they will face a lefty in Oakland’s Dillon Overton, and although Bumgarner has just a .175 average, he owns 11 home runs in 183 at-bats over the past three seasons.
He’ll become the first starting pitcher to bat for himself in an AL park since 2009, when Andy Sonnanstine hit third in the Tampa Bay Rays lineup. But that was an unintentional move; manager Joe Maddon had turned in an incorrect lineup card.
The last starting pitcher who hit for himself on purpose in an AL park was Ken Brett for the 1976 White Sox. Brett did it twice that season, and went 0 for 6. There were two other instances since the DH was implemented in 1973: Ken Holtzman, batted for the A’s in a game against the Angels in 1975, and Fergie Jenkins got a hit for the Rangers against the Twins in a game in 1974.
Bumgarner, who wants to compete in the home run derby at the All-Star Game, took batting practice prior to the Giants’ 7-1 loss at the Coliseum on Wednesday.
Because he’s in the lineup as the pitcher, the Giants cannot replace him with a DH later in the game. That could prove troublesome, and provide a significant disadvantage to Bochy, if Bumgarner gets knocked out early.
With his team trying to reverse trend following three ugly losses, it’s a risk that Bochy is willing to take.
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