I actually started this article a long time ago (May 8th to be exact) but never ended up finishing it and my computer's motherboard fried shortly thereafter. I got it again when I came back home for the summer and earlier today I just found this old document I had started and decided to finish it. I don't know if it's good or not, but I tried. Let me know what you think:
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Three-finger salute prevails<o></o>
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May 7, 2009 — In a seesaw battle between two of the worst teams in the National League, Arizona Diamondbacks’ third baseman and cleanup hitter Mark Reynolds went an appalling 0-for-5 with four strikeouts in the ten inning ballgame that sent the San Diego Padres the go to win in walk-off fashion with a score of 4-3. But the real story despite Reynolds’ strikeouts was the record opposing manager Bud Black set against him. He became the first manager in baseball to induce three intentional strikeouts to one opposing player.
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“He had three straight at bats with runners in scoring position and we couldn’t afford to let him do anything with his bat,” said Black, who issued a three-finger strikeout call to catcher Nick Hundley in Reynolds’ middle three at bats where twice he had runners on first and second and the other time with just one runner on second. “At first I considered issuing a free pass to him, but thought better of it that intentionally striking him out is more beneficial for the situation.
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“The intentional strikeout isn’t something we normally practice,” said Padres starting pitcher Chris Young. “I saw Nick give the sign the first time and was almost hesitant at first, so I accidentally threw one of the pitches in the dirt. I eventually got him and found it easy afterward.” Young issued all three of his intentional strikeouts through six innings of work, as a cascade of boos filled the stadium and they began hanging up rubber gloves for each punch out intentionally given to the league-leading strikeout king.
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Hundley empathized for the poor performance Reynolds had that night. “I started to feel sad that we did this to him all night, so we gave him a chance in the tenth [and final] inning. Yet he still struck out.” Hundley recorded two hits in the game including an RBI double. He did not strike out in his five plate appearance performance as the Padres won off the bat of a David Eckstein walk-off single.
<o> Reynolds was unavailable for comment after the game, though some joked he was unavailable for contact the entire game.
</o></o></o></o></o>Reynolds currently leads the major leagues in strikeouts with 36, now three of which are intentional.
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Source: Arizona vs. San Diego - May 7, 2009 | MLB.com
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May 7, 2009 — In a seesaw battle between two of the worst teams in the National League, Arizona Diamondbacks’ third baseman and cleanup hitter Mark Reynolds went an appalling 0-for-5 with four strikeouts in the ten inning ballgame that sent the San Diego Padres the go to win in walk-off fashion with a score of 4-3. But the real story despite Reynolds’ strikeouts was the record opposing manager Bud Black set against him. He became the first manager in baseball to induce three intentional strikeouts to one opposing player.
<o>
“He had three straight at bats with runners in scoring position and we couldn’t afford to let him do anything with his bat,” said Black, who issued a three-finger strikeout call to catcher Nick Hundley in Reynolds’ middle three at bats where twice he had runners on first and second and the other time with just one runner on second. “At first I considered issuing a free pass to him, but thought better of it that intentionally striking him out is more beneficial for the situation.
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“The intentional strikeout isn’t something we normally practice,” said Padres starting pitcher Chris Young. “I saw Nick give the sign the first time and was almost hesitant at first, so I accidentally threw one of the pitches in the dirt. I eventually got him and found it easy afterward.” Young issued all three of his intentional strikeouts through six innings of work, as a cascade of boos filled the stadium and they began hanging up rubber gloves for each punch out intentionally given to the league-leading strikeout king.
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Hundley empathized for the poor performance Reynolds had that night. “I started to feel sad that we did this to him all night, so we gave him a chance in the tenth [and final] inning. Yet he still struck out.” Hundley recorded two hits in the game including an RBI double. He did not strike out in his five plate appearance performance as the Padres won off the bat of a David Eckstein walk-off single.
<o> Reynolds was unavailable for comment after the game, though some joked he was unavailable for contact the entire game.
</o></o></o></o></o>Reynolds currently leads the major leagues in strikeouts with 36, now three of which are intentional.
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Source: Arizona vs. San Diego - May 7, 2009 | MLB.com
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