Phillies decide to intentionally walk Eric Campbell, then change their minds mid at-bat

By May 10, 2014, 10:37 PM EDT
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Bet you Eric Campbell didn’t see this in the minor leagues. In the top of the eighth inning of a 4-4 ballgame, the Phillies bullpen did what they do best and put two runners in scoring position with one out for 27-year-old rookie Eric Campbell, making his major league debut. With first base open, Carlos Ruiz stood towards the left-handed batter’s box and took the first of four pitches from reliever Mike Adams for the intentional walk, ostensibly to set up a potential inning-ending double play.

Then, for some reason, the Phillies changed their minds. Ruiz got back into his normal crouch behind the plate and Adams pitched to Campbell normally and ultimately struck him out looking.

Don’t believe me? The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Matt Gelb tweeted it:

Apparently Chase Utley had something to do with it:

The drama continued as Adams unintentionally walked Wilmer Flores to bring up former two-time Phillie Bobby Abreu. But Abreu grounded weakly back to Adams for the inning-ending put out at first base, leaving the game tied at 4-4 going into the top of the ninth inning.

Roger Clemens will be an analyst for ESPN on opening day

Associated PressMar 23, 2023, 12:09 AM EDT
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Roger Clemens will be an analyst for ESPN when the defending World Series champion Houston Astros host the Chicago White Sox on opening day.

Clemens made four appearances on last year’s KayRod Cast with Michael Kay and Alex Rodriguez. He will be stepping in on March 30 for David Cone, who will be doing the New York Yankees opener against the San Francisco Giants on YES Network.

“Roger has been sort of a friend of ours for the last year, so to speak, he’s in. He’s been engaged, knowledgeable and really present,” said ESPN Vice President of Production Phil Orlins. “You know, whatever past may be, he’s still tremendously engaged and he really brought that every time he was with us.”

Clemens was a seven-time Cy Young winner but his career after baseball has been tainted by allegations of performance-enhancing drug use. He is a Houston native and pitched for the Astros for three seasons.

Orlins said that with the rules changes and pitch clock, it is important to have a pitcher in the booth with Karl Ravech and Eduardo Perez.

“We don’t feel like we have to have the dynamic of Eduardo with a pitcher, but we certainly think that works. Throw in the added factor of rule changes and it is better to have a batter-pitcher perspective,” Orlins said.

Orlins did not say if this would open the door for future opportunities for Clemens as an ESPN analyst.