Lenn Sakata was ill-prepared to go behind the plate on Aug. 24, 1983. He had no glove, no equipment and no cup.
But with Baltimore’s bench depleted and the game heading for extra innings, the Orioles’ utilityman didn’t have a choice. So he scoured the dugout and locker room, found a spare supporter and some extra gear andborrowed Rick Dempsey’s mitt. Suited up, Sakata assumed squatting position and prepared for his debut as an emergency catcher. After receiving a few warm-ups and throwing a two-hopper down to second, he was as ready as he would ever be.
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As Toronto’s Cliff Johnson led off the 10th, Sakata scooted five feet behind the plate. He was afraid of being hit by Johnson’s backswing. “Even the home plate umpire was telling me I needed to move forward,” Sakata recalled with a laugh.
Johnson proceeded to take Orioles reliever Tim Stoddard deep to center on the first pitch. Sakata remembers the sound of bat meeting ball like a cannon going off in his ears. He held his ground as Stoddard then gave up a single to Barry Bonnell. From there, Tippy Martinez took over.That’s when things got really weird.
With the inexperienced Sakata catching for the first (and last) time, the Blue Jays were looking to run. Switch-hitter Dave Collins even stepped in as a lefty against the southpaw Martinez, aiming to obstruct Sakata’s view. The backstop never got a chance to try out his skills, though. Martinez picked Bonnell off, then walked Collins, only to catch him napping, too. Willie Upshaw suffered the same fate after beating out an infield single.
Sakata survived the sequence without embarrassment, but his improbableevening wasn’t finished yet.
After teammate Cal Ripken Jr. hit a game-tying homer to start the bottom of the inning, Sakata was up with two out and two on. Though he was not known for his power — he hit just 25 dingers over his 11-year career — Sakata managed to pull out athree-run, walk-off shot — one the remaining fans at Memorial Stadium are likely to never forget.
“My legs were shaking…they were already tired,” Sakata said when asked what motivated his rare display of power. “I’m thinking, ‘If I gotta catch one more inning, I might not be able to get up.’”
Sakata’s 1984 Donruss trading card highlights his appearance at catcher. (Card courtesy of the Trading Card Database)
To be an emergency catcher is to await the unenviable.
Every team has one, just in case, but few relish the responsibility. Outside of some bullpens or the minors, most emergency catchers haven’t seen game action behind the plate since college or the minors. In Sakata’s case, it was Little League.
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He was lucky enough to end his catching debut on a high note, but not every last-ditch backstop can say the same.
Former Rangers corner infielder Mike Lamb, for example, lasted just five innings on April 25, 2002. He was supposed to give Bill Haselman an off day with Pudge Rodriguez on the DL, but Texas scrapped those plans when two stolen bases, one passed ball and three wild pitches occurred on Lamb’s watch.
A catcher in college, he had never called a game before. He couldn’t get 13-year veteran Dave Burba to stop shaking him off. Lamb had forgotten Burba threw a changeup and had to be reminded.
“[Dave] took one on the chin that day because he had to put up with me behind the plate,” he said. “He was a total professional about it. I’m not sure I really helped him at all that day, but he never looked at me sideways.”
Naturally, experience helps in these situations.
The 1999 Mariners were fortunate to have a qualified third-stringer in Raúl Ibañez. Even better, they never needed him in a dire situation, though he did get some work in during a blowout that April.
Drafted as a catcher, Ibañez caught in the minors and had in-game reps during spring training. He sat in on pitchers’ meetings early in his career, had his own gear and was capable of managing a game. He was an obvious choice to be Seattle’s EC.
“I was nervous, but I knew that that was the opportunity,” Ibañez said of his only catching appearance, a spotless four-inning outing in which he blocked a few balls in the dirt. “It was just a whatever-it-takes type of thing to keep you in the major leagues and to keep you a part of a championship-caliber team, which we were back then.”
Still, even experienced emergency catchers can build up rust. Playing any position in the majors requires continuous maintenance of one’s skill, and emergency catchers don’t get to dedicate much time to a job they hope they never have to fill.
Neil Walker was also drafted as a catcher, but he hasn’t been behind the plate since 2010. That didn’t stop the Yankees from promoting him to the emergency role earlier this season.
“It’s hard to prepare for because I’m trying to prepare for second, third and first base on top of switch-hitting,” he explained. “It’s just one of those things where you hope it doesn’t happen, but if it does, I’ll do my best.”
The ability to play multiple positions is a staple among emergency catchers. Flexibility is the best way for a light hitter or a young player to make a roster, so what’s one more spot on the resumé?
Andrew Romine went all in on that approach last year, becoming the fifth major leaguer to play all nine positions in one game while playing for the Tigers on Sept. 30. He said catching was the hardest part. He used a glove gifted to him by his brother, Austin, a backup backstop with the Yankees.
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Now a member of the Mariners, Romine is — you guessed it — their emergency catcher. After his 2017 stunt included a few mishaps, he hopes to avoid coming into the game. Despite that, Romine catches bullpen sessions one or two times a week. Even that’s difficult — and it’s far from the real thing.
“It’s not something that you look forward to. It’s not a practice you look forward to,” Romine said. “Catching is hard and tiring and you have to be in the game. You’re involved in every pitch. When I caught, it was fast. Everything was happening kind of like a blur once people got on base.”
While emergency catchers rarely have success behind the plate, most seem to have fun with it, even if it poses a challenge. Lamb swears he enjoyed catching “until a ball went in the dirt.”
At the very least, most ECs gain perspective. Squatting lets them see the game from a different vantage point while also instilling a greater sense of appreciation for the work catchers do.
“I’m really thankful I learned the game from behind the plate,” Ibañez said. “It helped me as an outfielder, it helped me as a hitter, it helped me watching the game from the dugout as a baserunner, all of it. Clearly, I wasn’t a great catcher, but I’m glad I did it. I’m glad that I learned how to grind.
“That’s what I did enjoy.”
(Top photo of Romine: Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports)
