SAN FRANCISCO — Patrick Bailey’s entrance into the Major League Baseball record books Tuesday night began with a tight swing from the Giants catcher that sent a fastball from Phillies reliever Jordan Romano into Triples Alley.
It ended with Bailey chugging around third base and then getting mobbed by teammates at home plate after becoming the third catcher in major league history to hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run.
The three-run shot had an exit velocity of 103.4 mph and bounced off the brick wall at the Giants’ waterfront ballpark. It ricocheted back toward center field as Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh gave chase.
Bailey said his initial thought was to get a triple before he saw third-base coach Matt Williams waving him in.
“Off the ball I just knew I got it well,” Bailey said. “I saw it was towards Triples Alley, and I was like, ‘Oh, I got to go. I at least got to get to third.’ Once I saw the bounce, I was like, ‘All right, just don’t fall over.'”
It was the first time in nearly nine years that a player hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run in the majors. Cleveland’s Tyler Naquin was the last to do so, against the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 19, 2016. The Phillies’ Bob Dernier was the last to do so for a team trailing by multiple runs, against the Giants in 1989.
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Bailey, who grounded into a double play and struck out in two of his previous at-bats, joined the Chicago Cubs’ Pat Moran in 1907 and Washington’s Bennie Tate in 1926 as the only catchers in MLB history to hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run.
The three-run homer lifted the Giants to a 4-3 victory that had the Oracle Park crowd roaring as Bailey crossed the plate.
It was the ninth time this season the Giants won in their final at-bat, tops in the majors.
“He has gotten some big hits this year,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “In big situations he’s come through. Not as much as he would like. Hopefully, that’s something that catapults him. Haven’t seen him drive a ball like that in a while.”
Bailey couldn’t recall whether he had previously hit an inside-the-park home run at any level. His homer Tuesday night would have been an outside-the-park home run in 29 of 30 ballparks, with Oracle Park being the exception.
As nice as this one was, he said he would have preferred to hit a regular home run.
“Tired,” Bailey said when asked how he felt. “I wished it would have gone over the fence.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
