Thursday, June 19, 2025

September 21, 2021

They’re Calling This The Worst Pitch In Major League Baseball History [Video]

27-year-old rookie pitcher Jake Brentz had a bit of a shocker against the Oakland Athletics. Worse still, it was on his birthday.

[imagesource: NBC Sports]

27-year-old rookie pitcher Jake Brentz makes $570 500 per year playing for the Kansas City Royals.

That’s significantly less than some of his teammates (Salvador Perez will earn around $14 million), but he’s not exactly going hungry.

As a pitcher, and especially as a pitcher for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, your job is to throw the ball with venom and vigour, which you hope will be followed by the sound of it smacking into the catcher’s gloves at home plate.

Brentz failed on both accounts during the Royals’ match against the Oakland Athletics last Tuesday, hurling the ball into the ground just in front of him.

Worse still, this took place on his birthday.

It was quickly dubbed the worst pitch in MLB history, and that seems pretty accurate:

I think this GIF just about sums it up:

As embarrassing as his gaffe would have been, Brentz came back strongly.  The New York Post reports that he struck Starling Marte out two pitches later, worked a perfect inning, and earned his fifth win of the season.

Sweet, sweet redemption.

You just know his teammates will show him the pitch time and time again over the course of the season, though.

[source:nypost]