Watch enough baseball and you’ll see something you’ve never seen before. And if you wait long enough, you might even see it again. Or, at least, something pretty close to it.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Bailey’s speedy round-tripper was the first time a team won via a walk-off inside-the-park home run when trailing by multiple runs since … wait for it … the Phillies did it to the Giants in 1989. Same teams, roles reversed.
In the 1989 wackiness, the Phillies’ Bob Dernier — with his team trailing the Giants 2-0 in the bottom of the 12th — lined a ball into the left-field corner at Veterans Stadium that Giants left fielder Kevin Mitchell had trouble corralling. The ball bounded away and scooted along the warning track, which allowed Philadelphia’s Dickie Thon and Steve Lake to score easily, and also paved the way for Dernier to scamper home ahead of the relay to score the game-winner.
In Tuesday’s play, Bailey hit a deep drive that took a big, friendly bounce off the brick wall in right-center field and likewise rolled along the warning track long enough for Bailey to circle the bases on the heels of runners Casey Schmitt and Brett Wisely.
Tuesday’s occurrence was the fifth time such a thing has happened in the Live Ball Era (since 1921). The other hitters to do it: the Twins’ Tim Teufel in 1984, the Pirates’ Roberto Clemente in 1956 and the Dodgers’ Tom Winsett in 1937.
Nothing new under the sun? Try nothing new on a baseball field.
