The Detroit Tigers added Wilson Betemit for his bat. Any awesomely awkward throws he might make on defense are just a bonus.
Betemit, acquired from Kansas City in a trade earlier this week, went 1 for 4 with a run scored in his Tigers debut Thursday night, a 6-2 victory at Minnesota. He needs only one more hit in July to equal the monthly total for Brandon Inge, the man he is replacing. So, that's the good.
The bad: He's already a leader in the Tigers clubhouse for ugliest play of the season.
Playing third base, Betemit nearly hit pitcher Phil Coke ? who rightly was ducking out of the way ? on a bungled throw to first base after Danny Valencia's slow roller in the ninth.
After nearly tripping over the bag, Betemit appeared to lose his grip on the ball, but tried throwing anyway. His effort got nowhere near Miguel Cabrera at first. Instead, it humorously rolled all of the way to the fence in front of the Twins dugout for an error that allowed a run to score.
The best view of the play is, of course, via animated loop to be watched over and over. Yankees fan @richardiurilli ? who certainly has fond memories of Betemit when he played with the Bronx Bombers ? made a GIF and gives it to us all as a gift.
The laughing announcer on video is Twins analyst Roy Smalley, himself a former major league infielder, who's right to say that Betemit will get tons of grief from his teammates for the worm-killing throw. It's already happening, actually.
Note the look on Coke's face afterward:
Ginger grin for the win. Betemit sure made an unintentionally funny first impression. Just remember, Coke must be saying to himself: He is here for his bat.
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