Quick notes on Raul Ibanez’s epic game |

US PRESSWIRE

I don’t have time to write a proper post, but here are some quick notes on last night’s performance by the man Lou Piniella used to call “Rawl EYE-buh-nez”.

His 2-homer game carried the 5th-highest Win Probability Added in playoff history.
It was the 2nd-highest WPA by a non-starter (behind you-know-who)
It was only the 5th playoff game in history where a non-starter had 2 extra-base hits. He’s the only guy to have both be homers. Amazingly, also yesterday was the 4th such game, a few hours beforehand, when Joaquin Arias came in as a sub and hit two doubles.
Ibanez has had only 2 regular season games with greater WPA. Number 1 on that list is a game from a few weeks ago where he also entered as a pinch-hitter and ended up with 2 homers.
Ibanez had another pinch-hit game-tying 9th-inning homer against the Red Sox less than 2 weeks ago.
And courtesy of our friend Sean Forman at Sports-Reference, Alex Rodriguez is the greatest player to ever be removed for a pinch-hitter in a clutch post-season moment.

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bstar

12 years ago

Eyeballing his HR log for his regular season career, I count 7 walk-off HR for Ibanez and 9 HR in the ninth or later to either tie the game or put his team ahead.

I may have missed one or two.

Richard Chester

Reply to bstar

You don’t have to eyeball walk-off HRs, it is listed on the top of the HR log page. He had 6. For the HRs which tied or put his team ahead after the 9th inning I eye-balled 10.

Reply to Richard Chester

I see it now, thanks.

Editor

John Autin

Apparently the first Ibanez HR was the 4th ever by a PH that tied a postseason game in the 9th or later — and the only one that ended in a win for his team. The first was in 1985 by Pat Sheridan, ALCS game 2, for KCR against TOR. The Royals went ahead in the 10th, but lost in the bottom half. Next was 1998 NLDS game 2, Jim Leyritz for SDP against HOU, a 2-run tying shot in the 9th. But the Pads lost in the bottom half on Bill Spiers’s single — the only game Houston won… Read more »

Evil Squirrel

And courtesy of our friend Sean Forman at Sports-Reference, Alex Rodriguez is the greatest player to ever be removed for a pinch-hitter in a clutch post-season moment.

I see McGwire is fourth on that list… he was the first player I thought of before I clicked on the link. And that was the end of Big Mac’s career… what a way for one of the most noted power hitters of his time to go out, being pinch hit for by a slap hitting reserve outfielder in the 9th inning of a close sudden death playoff game…

John Nacca

And now, Alex Rodriguez is the greatest player ever to be removed TWICE for a pinch-hitter in a clutch post-season moment (Eric Chavez last night).

Really, has this guy fallen so far so fast??????