OTD 2005: The Improbable Adventure of Dae-Sung Koo
The universal designated hitter has rendered pitchers at the plate and, if they’re good enough, on the basepaths virtually extinct. That makes moments like this extra special — not like it wasn’t special before.
There was a time in which even the best left-handed major leagues found excuses to avoid facing Randy Johnson. Dae-Sung Koo, though, had no fear. Or he simply didn’t know any better.
Whatever the reason, the 35-year-old Mets relief pitcher stepped into the batters’ box from the left side. Koo defied conventional wisdom and lightened the bank account of Mike Piazza, who allegedly said he’d give a million dollars to charity if he got a hit.
Tim McCarver proclaimed on the FOX broadcast what most were probably thinking:
“This is the biggest give-up at-bat.”
Almost on cue, there was contact. Not just contact, but a hard-hit ball to deep center. It went well out of the reach of Bernie Williams and hopped against the wall.
To the unadulterated joy of David Wright and others in the Mets dugout, Koo had a double. A miracle, by any stretch.
And we were only halfway done.
José Reyes came up next and bunted, seemingly to advance Koo an additional 90 feet. Yankees catcher Jorge Posada tossed to first for the out, but left home plate vacated. Koo (wearing a jacket and still having a weighted ball in his pocket, which only adds to the zaniness quotient) broke for home. Showing baserunning intrepidness not seen in ages, if ever, he dove head-first to try and avoid Posada’s tag. Did Posada get him in time? Umpire Chuck Meriwether said no, so we’ll leave it at that.
“I think he made the right call,” Koo said. “If he said ‘Safe,’ then I’m safe.”
Words don’t do it justice. It must be seen to be believed. Even if you’ve seen it, and still don’t believe it, you’ll certainly want to see it again.
It’s quite a feat for a left-hander to get a hit off Randy Johnson. It’s even more incredible when it’s a pitcher.
According to an article from MLB.com, there were 534 plate appearances by pitchers against Johnson in his career; 261 of them, were strikeouts. Pitchers had a .106 batting average against him and Johnson allowed just 11 extra-base hits.
Koo was one of just two lefty-swinging pitchers ever to double off the great Randy Johnson.
Now factor in his baserunning and it increases the unlikeliness of such a scenario 100-fold.
How often do you see a runner score from second on a bunt? How often do you see a pitcher score from second on a bunt? runner almost never scores from second on a bunt. Not clean, not without the help of an error.
From that same MLB.com piece, there were 4,915 successful sacrifice bunts with a runner on second from 2000-19. The number of times a runner ever scored (without the help of an error)? Six. None of them were pitchers.
Koo’s Mets career consisted of just one season and 33 games. He never had a decision and posted a 3.91 ERA with a 107 ERA+.
But with all due respect, those pitching numbers are otherwise irrelevant. What he did on May 21, 2005 made him an instant and permanent Mets legend. Maybe we’ll see it reenacted at an Old Timers’ Day soon.
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