The longest at-bat in MLB history, a breakdown
What Happened
Jordan Hicks of the St. Louis Cardinals takes the mound in a spring training game, making his first appearance in two years after injury and COVID-19 disruptions. Hicks starts off strong, blowing a 100 mph fastball past the batter, New York Mets infielder Guillermo Heredia, for a strike. He then follows it up with a nasty 89 mph slider, putting Heredia in an 0-2 hole. What unfolds over the next 20 pitches is an epic battle between pitcher and batter. Heredia fouls off pitch after pitch, refusing to give in to Hicks' overpowering arsenal. The at-bat captivates the players and fans in the stadium, with Mets star Pete Alonso jumping up and down in the dugout, cheering on his teammate. Hicks tries to mix in different pitches - fastballs, sliders, changeups - but Heredia is locked in, spoiling every offering. The count goes full at 3-2 as the at-bat reaches 19 pitches, setting a new record for the longest in MLB spring training history. Hicks and catcher Yadier Molina seem unsure of what to throw, shaking off signs as they try to put Heredia away. Finally, on the 22nd pitch, Heredia takes a slider for ball four, earning the hard-fought walk. The dugouts and fans erupt in celebration, recognizing the remarkable display of perseverance and skill they've just witnessed. Hicks is removed from the game, having used up his entire pitch count on just one batter. "Wow, that was crazy," Hicks says afterwards. "If there was a one-batter minimum rule, I'd have to face two more batters. But it's spring training, so no one really cares." Heredia, grinning from ear to ear, says he was just trying to "work the count" and not give in to Hicks' power stuff. This epic 22-pitch duel showcases the best of spring training baseball - a chance for players to shake off the rust, test their limits and provide fans with a thrilling preview of the season to come. Though it's just an exhibition, this marathon at-bat is sure to be remembered as one of the most entertaining moments of the Grapefruit League schedule.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentit is the at-bat of spring training
everyone's talking about it i was on
vacation when it happened now i'm back i
got to take a look i'm excited this
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laughs jordan hicks is on the bump for
the cardinals
he hasn't pitched in two years injury
and then covid
and he hasn't seen a batter in two years
it's spring training so he's just gonna
take it nice and easy throw some
fastballs twirl some sliders
see what he's got nothing too strong
nothing too serious first pitch
100 miles per hour out of the gun strike
one
second pitch nasty slider 89 miles per
hour oh and two here's those two pitches
overlaid
how are you ever going to make the
adjustment well you'll see because
guillermo is about to make the adjustion
adjustment a million times he goes
another fastball fouled back then
another slider
fouled back and he goes back to the
fastball ball
one and two five pitches deep we're
having an at-bat
okay another fastball he fouls that one
back another fastball he fouls that one
back so three fastballs in a row he goes
to the slider
he fouled back slider again three is
slider
puts it down fouls that one down the
first baseline nice play by the first
base coach
now he goes another slider and that's
failed back so he went
three sinkers in a row then three
sliders in a row
guillermo is just fouling everything
back that's high he goes matrix style
chills out count evens up at two and two
go back to the fastball again that i
thought was a ball it's actually
the scoreboard thought it was a ball but
it was actually a foul tip
so now yachty goes do you want to throw
the fastball no you want to throw the
slider no you want to throw the change
up okay
hicks says i want to throw the change up
guillerme throws his bat at that one
that dude misses the ball your one job
is to catch that ball and you didn't do
it
change up didn't fool him goes back to
the slider now this guy shows him how
it's done and that's how you protect the
bullpen mound
yeah yeah the bench is starting to get
super excited we're 14 pitches deep
yachty's like dude what do you want to
throw i mean it's your first appearance
what's everyone think like let's just
throw fastballs and get out of here like
nah i want to get this guy out so
first he's got to check out his
fingertips see if they're still working
still working i mean 14 pitches is a
hell of an at-bat
he goes back to a hundred mile per hour
now dom is loving it
alonso's loving it banging the railing
screaming
let's [ __ ] go let's go all right
he goes back to the changeup and gearme
just throws the bat at it and spoils it
again now he's laughing because he's
like this
is funny i don't know how i'm doing this
17th pitch of the at-bat
foul back that could have been strike
three if yaddy hangs on to it but he
doesn't
gang on to it let's go
18th pitch he goes back to the slider
and that's fouled back and alonso is
fired up top of the step
19th pitch he goes to the slider again
fouled back everyone's cheering again
now they're saying like get up
get up you're witnessing something cool
everyone get up and one fan gets up
one fan gets up gotta work on that the
mets gotta work on that a little bit oh
so that is ball three but because of the
foul tip from earlier everyone thought
that was ball four
so dom's face when he finds out that
that wasn't ball four he's like what
what there was only two balls
the bat's still going 21st pitch
is a slider fouled back alonzo screaming
they're dancing in the dugout 22nd pitch
he
takes he spits on the slider alonso's
cheering again
and that is the longest at bat in mlb
history
but it's just spring training 21 is
still the record for regular season
and they got to take him out because
they were only going to throw like 22
pitches in the inning
his whole inning was used up on one
batter jordan hicks was like okay
that was crazy if there was a one batter
minimum rule you'd have to face two more
batters but it's spring training no one
really cares
that's about as fun and wild as it gets
i mean
for a walk walks usually aren't
celebrated like this but look at these
guys
looking like they just won big at
draftkings wow
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too
and celebrate just like them wouldn't
that be fun
gear may i did a breakdown of him when
he pitched last year and i think he
liked it
so me and gearme good friends sup dude