if I were a major league manager. Not out of strategy, just carelessness.
Rays mistake sends pitcher to plate By ROGER MOONEY - [email protected] ST. PETERSBURG — History was made during the bottom of the first inning Sunday when a pitcher came to bat for the first time ever at Tropicana Field. Because of a mix-up on the Tampa Bay Rays lineup card, Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine was forced to replace designated hitter Evan Longoria and bat for himself. Apparently, the Rays lineup card handed to the umpires before the game listed both Ben Zobrist and Longoria as the third baseman. Longoria was supposed to be the designated hitter. Zobrist took the field for the top of the first inning, so he was in the game. Since Longoria did not play, he was kept out of the lineup and would still be eligible to play. So Sonnanstine came to bat in the bottom of the first with Carl Crawford on first base. Sonnanstine, a .400 career hitter, received a standing ovation. He tried to bunt Crawford over to second, but bunted the ball too hard and forced Crawford out at second. The last American League pitcher to begin a game with a position in the batting order was Ken Brett of the White Sox on Sept. 23, 1976. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Red Sox Citizens" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/redsoxcitizens?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
