As a pitcher who’s spent the majority of his career in the American League, Jason Vargas hasn’t had a lot of clutch at-bats. But there he was, Game 4 of the World Series, bases loaded, 2-2 count, a chance to make a huge play for his team. And this happened:
Jason Vargas runs to first base after ball 3 during Royals rally
We love pitchers hitting, and we love AL pitchers hitting in an NL ballpark in games that decides the sport’s champion.
Jamie Squire
Vargas forgot the count and ran to first base, not realizing there were three balls, not four, before awkwardly pausing for about eight seconds. He struck out on the next pitch without taking the bat off his shoulder.
Just hold that pose:
Vargas actually isn’t a bad hitter -- he has a .262 career average, hit three doubles in 42 at-bats while with the Marlins, and gave a pretty good ride to a pitch in his first at-bat. But this embarrassing moment will probably be the lasting memory anybody will ever have of Vargas in the batters’ box.
Although the Royals missed out on their chance to crack the game open with their pitcher at the plate, they still pushed across three runs in the third inning to take a 4-1 lead.
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