Playing the game

Ko Yamaguchi is causing such a sensation in the Japanese High School Baseball tournament that even the Major League Baseball blog has a post about him.

This savant from Japan is taking switch-hitting to a new extreme. He switches which side he hits after EACH pitch. Literally every pitch! Though perhaps we should put “hits” in quotes since it’s unclear if he actually swings the bat based on the limited footage.

Righty or lefty? This batter switched after every pitch!

When I shared this clip with my co-workers, I was instructed to “Google Eddie Gaedel” (thanks Rich!) which led me to this wonderful Wikipedia entry that included this passage:

Gaedel gained recognition in the second game of a St. Louis Browns doubleheader on August 19, 1951. Weighing 60 pounds (27 kg) and standing 3 feet 7 inches (109 cm) tall, he became the shortest player in the history of the Major Leagues. Gaedel made a single plate appearance and was walked with four consecutive balls before being replaced by a pinch-runner at first base. His jersey, bearing the uniform number “18“, is displayed in the St. Louis Cardinals Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Eddie Gaedel – Wikipedia, retrieved July 26, 2022

That’s one way to play the game.

There was that wonderful story of the football coach from the early days who had all his team wear a jersey that had the image of a football on the front so it was hard to tell who was carrying the ball.

Remember when Tim Ferriss won the Chinese Kickboxing National Championship?

Any other instances of people “bending” the rules to win?


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One response to “Playing the game”

  1. The week that was Avatar

    […] is taking switch-hitting to a new extreme.” I later learned about a player in the 1950s named Eddie Gaedel and something called the Eephus […]

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