After he fell behind 1-2 in his at-bat on Tuesday against Kansas City Royals pitcher Taylor Clarke, it probably didn’t seem like Baltimore Orioles right fielder Anthony Santander was likely to get a hit. But he did, thanks to a remarkable at-bat.
Clarke’s first pitch to Santander was high for a ball. Then, after swinging and missing at Clarke’s second pitch to even the count, Santander fell into a 1-2 hole when he fouled off the third pitch of the at-bat. That became a theme. That was the first of 12 straight foul balls from Santander.
Santander finally took a pitch on Clarke’s 15th offering. It was a ball to even the count at 2-2. Then, on the 16th pitch of the at-bat, Santander offered at a breaking ball below the strike zone. Unlike his previous swings in the at-bat, Santander hit this pitch into fair territory. And while he couldn’t keep the ball in his hands, Santander got the result he needed.
The ball fell in front of Kansas City right fielder, MJ Melendez for a single.
If an at-bat is going to turn into an "epic battle for the soul of humanity," you might as well get a hit. pic.twitter.com/2LreiXmRWk
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 3, 2023
The at-bat was the talk of MLB Twitter.
This battle between Anthony Santander and Taylor Clarke had the most pitches in any at bat so far this season! 😮
ball
swinging strike
foul
foul
foul
foul
foul
foul
foul
foul
foul
foul
foul
foul
ball
singlepic.twitter.com/uCPQygPbHp— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 3, 2023
Way to battle https://t.co/0K6gwFpljb
— DeZ Wick 🔫 (@Dez_VS_Fresh) May 3, 2023
Here's a guy not giving his at bat away. This is what it looks like. There TOO many noncompetitive at bats for hitters. Happens every game. Absolutely enjoy this! https://t.co/7Yag8OpIYq
— MLB-Daily.com (@Webbie20MLB) May 3, 2023
WHAT AN AT BAT BY SANTANDER!!! 16 PITCHES AND A BASE HIT!!
— Maryland Sports Blog (@MDSportsblog) May 3, 2023
https://twitter.com/StephenPAdams/status/1653583002574761984
The Orioles made to make the most of Santander’s epic at-bat. Later in the inning, he came around to score on an RBI single from Ramón Urías. That did a lot to help answer the Royals, who scored four combined runs over the sixth and seventh innings to cut a 10-3 deficit to 10-7. Santander’s run ended up being the last one of the game, as Baltimore defeated Kansas City 11-7.
