Pitching muscle memory kicks in for KC Royals outfielder Nate Eaton vs. Texas Rangers
A position player getting pitching duty means something has gone woefully wrong for his team, and that was the case for the Royals in the series opener against the Texas Rangers.
But at least Nate Eaton, who has played all three outfield positions this season, knew the territory. Over his college career at Virginia Military Institute he had worked as a starter and closer.
As the Royals fell further behind, trailing 11-2 as the Rangers came to bat in the eighth, manager Matt Quatraro summoned Eaton to save the bullpen — and mission accomplished.
Eaton faced five batters, surrendering a pair of singles and striking out Adolis Garcia, who earlier had hit a grand slam, to complete his scoreless frame. He threw 22 pitches, 13 for strikes, and was the only one of four Royals pitchers to not surrender a run.
“I want to say it felt good, but it’s obviously not a good situation to be in if I have to come in and pitched,” Eaton said.
Quatraro said he was more interested in strikes than velocity but Eaton delivered both, hitting 94 with his fastball and keeping Rangers hitters off balance with a slider in his first pitching appearance since May of 2018.
“That’s what I felt comfortable with being able to throw strikes at,” Eaton said. “I didn’t want to lob it up there. It kind of makes myself defenseless.”
Although he doesn’t take pitching reps, Eaton said portions of his throwing mechanics as a position player resemble what he did as a pitcher.
“I take my throwing programs seriously,” Eaton said.
A new rule in baseball this year allowed Quatraro to summon Eaton to the mound. In an effort to reduce position players from pitching.
Last season, position players could pitch when the score was separated by six runs. This year, trailing teams have be down by at least eight runs, or leading teams up by 10 or more runs.
Last season, there were 132 position player appearances, not including Shohei Ohtani, up from 89 in 2021.