The St. Paul Saints came back three different times during Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Goldeneyes. But that fact was far from the strangest thing to happen during the game.
The Saints, members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, were tied with the Goldeneyes in the 10th inning and had the winning run at third. St. Paul’s Aaron Gretz swung and missed on a 3-2 pitch. However, the ball got by the catcher and went to the backstop. In the meantime, the winning run scored from third and the Saints got to celebrate a walkoff strikeout.
As seen in the video, Gretz isn’t really sure how to react after winning the game via a strikeout. But soon his teammates begin the typical walkoff celebration mob. The excitement level was similar to any other walkoff, but this weird instance did cause Baseball Prospectus to question how a team celebrates a walkoff strikeout.
A walkoff strikeout hasn’t happened in Major League Baseball since 2010, when the Rangers beat the Mariners, and has only happened on record five times in MLB history.
The game itself between St. Paul and Winnipeg was a wild one prior to the walkoff strikeout. The Saints trailed 5-0, 7-3 and 10-6 before winning the game in the 11th. The win gives St. Paul a 26-10 record, which is best in the American Association.
[Yahoo]
