It takes something really special to make a plate appearance during spring training stand out. Usually, it involves a titanic blast that smashes a windshield in the parking lot, or a high octane fastball that defies the laws of physics. On Sunday, New York Mets infielder Luis Guillorme had his plate appearance stand out for drawing a walk.
Guillorme came to the plate to face Cardinals flamethrower Jordan Hicks, who was making his spring training debut. Several minutes later, the Mets infielder won the battle after he drew a 22 pitch walk.
Luis Guillorme's 22-pitch at-bat against Jordan Hicks.
— MLB (@MLB) March 14, 2021
Enjoy. pic.twitter.com/5lSvlbktre
New York Mets infielder Luis Guillorme has most impressive walk ever
The amazing part of this battle is that Guillorme had actually fallen behind in the count 0-2 before he began fouling everything off. Hicks threw everything he had at Guillorme, with his velocity ranging between 83.2 MPH and 101.3 MPH. Pitches 14 and 15 had a 17.1 MPH difference in velocity. Hicks even threw two changeups, a pitch he has used a grand total of 17 times in the majors.
And yet, none of it mattered. Guillorme took balls on pitches 11 and 12, fouling off everything else that was close to the plate much to the delight of his teammates in the dugout. Finally, on the 22nd pitch of the plate appearances, he held up on a pitch down and in. Guillorme headed to first and Hicks to the dugout, having reached his pitch limit for his outing.
If Guillorme is going to be a part of the Mets roster, it will be for moments such as this. He is nominally a utility infielder, spending time at second, short, and third, but majority of his appearances in the majors have come as a pinch hitter. He has posted a career .259/.343/.341 batting line in 212 plate appearances, hitting 12 doubles while drawing 24 walks and striking out just 34 times.
The Mets have added more depth this offseason, making his place on the roster far from secure. However, there is a possible opening on the bench, especially in the wake of Jose Martinez‘s injury. Guillorme’s excellent defense and strong contact skills had already put him in the running for a place on the Opening Day roster and he has only helped his case thus far in spring training.
Luis Guillorme may have already had the plate appearance of the 2021 season. The New York Mets infielder certainly drew attention with his 22 pitch walk.