7.22.2008

Exhibit 11.5

It wouldn't surprise me if this video gets pulled due to MLB's draconian policies, but that's Royals shortstop Tony Pena Jr. coming in to pitch during the 9th inning of a blowout. This pretty much made my night last night. Not only did he show some nasty stuff, he pitched the whole thing with his sunglasses on and a monumental plug of chewing tobacco in his mouth. Oh, and he struck out a future Hall of Famer.

Look, they lost 19-4. I'll take what small pleasures I can get.

For those who care about such thing, here's an analysis of his Pitch F/X. Also, for the statheads, take comfort in knowing that Pena's Win Shares, VORP, and WPA are all almost certainly higher for him as a pitcher than as a shortstop (which says a lot about how awful he's been).

You know what else says a lot about how awful he's been, the fact that if he was a full-time pitcher in the National League--as opposed to, you know, a full-time hitter in the American League--his OPS+ would rank 28th among pitchers with 30 at bats according to Sam Mellinger.

Translation: Tony Pena Jr.'s one inning of pitching is more valuable than his half-season of playing shortstop. Also, there are at least 27 pitchers in the National League who are better at hitting a baseball than he is.

I don't care. TPJ just provided one of my favorite baseball memories.

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