Matt Reigle
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Every Major League pitcher can probably remember his first Big League strikeout, but few are as bizarre as the one belonging to an Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher.
Slade Cecconi (phenomenal name, by the way) made his major league debut Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants. The first batter the 24-year-old faced was Giants first baseman Lamonte Wade Jr.
Cecconi, who has spent most of the season with the Triple-A Reno Aces, battled Wade to a full count.
Then things got totally bizarre with the 3-2 offering. It came inside on the left-handed Wade, close to his hands, but that’s about all anyone could tell until after watching a series of replays.
It was clear that the pitch hit something, but eventually, you could tell that it hit the knob of Wade’s bat. Even wilder yet, the pitch ricocheted away from catcher Jose Herrera’s mitt and hit him almost square in the crotch,
Ow. Ow ow ow.
However, Herrera managed to catch the ball with his mid-section and never dropped it.
Upon review, Wade was ruled out and Cecconi officially notched his maiden Big League strikeout.
“It was 3-2 and I basically threw it right at him,” Cecconi said after the game, per MLB.com. “Jose did a great job putting his cup on today. Got the strikeout.”
No kidding. I’m sure Herrera was happy he put that cup in there too.
“It feels a little sore,” Herrera said. “But hopefully it will feel better.”
That was one of two Ks that Cecconi notched in 4 and two-thirds innings of work. He also gave up 4 hits and two runs en route to the Diamondbacks‘ 4-2 loss to the Giants.s
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