It is game 162 and some weird stuff happens when you get to the last game of the year, especially when you play for the 2015 Marlins or Phillies. Trailing the Phillies 7-1 in the eighth inning, the Marlins looked to Ichiro to pick up a few outs in relief. It was exactly how you'd expect a pitching outing from a 41-year-old, Hall-of-Fame outfielder who has never pitched in the Major Leagues: he finished with one inning pitched, allowing one run on two hits for an even 9.00 ERA.
But! He did have some good moments, like when he completely fooled Freddy Galvis on a breaking ball. Galvis was waaay out in front on the 78 MPH curveball and Ichiro earned a little chuckle from his teammate Cole Gillespie for the trickery.
Ichiro has said before that he'd like to pitch before he retires, so maybe this was a going away present from the Marlins, but he's also 65 hits away from 3,000 MLB hits, so…maybe not.[CSN]
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