Oakland Athletics Release Pinch Runner Herb Washington

Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley was not afraid to push the envelope and try to find any advantage he could. One of those experiments came to an end on this day in 1975 when pinch runner Herb Washington was released.

In the 1970’s and 1980’s, baseball was permeated with speedsters running rampant, with players the likes of Ron LeFlore and Vince Coleman causing havoc on the basepaths. Always one to look for an advantage, Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley sought out the ultimate weapon on the basepaths, signing sprinter Herb Washington exclusively to be a pinch runner.

While it makes sense to have a speedster on the bench, those players have baseball skill, having spent their lives playing the game. Washington, however, had never played baseball, spending his time as a sprinter and as a wide receiver at Michigan State University. He held the world record in the fifty and sixty yard dash, impressing A’s manager Alvin Dark when he saw Washington on television.

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And so began Herb Washington’s baseball career. Used strictly as a pinch runner, Washington appeared in 105 career games, never having a plate appearance or appearing in the field. He did make an impact in his appearances, scoring 33 runs and stealing 31 bases in his career. However, Washington had nothing in the way of baseball instincts, being caught 17 times attempting to steal and was picked off quite a few times.

That experiment with Washington ended on this day in 1975. The A’s signed Don Hopkins, another speedster, but one who could actually play in the field and swing a bat, to take over Washington’s role as a pinch runner. As it was, Hopkins, who was nominally an outfielder, had eight plate appearances and played five games in the outfield during his playing career.

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Herb Washington was an interesting footnote in baseball history, and the Oakland Athletics pinch runner is also the only player to have a baseball card with ‘pinch runner’ as his listed position. Unfortunately, he was incapable of doing anything else on the field, with his baseball career ending on this day in 1975.