Texas Rangers: Brock Holt sets record of dubious distinction

Brock Holt has had a productive career as a utility player. He’s been an All-Star. He was a member of a World Championship team in Boston. He had an ALDS to remember, hitting .667 with a home run against the Red Sox top rival, the New York Yankees. The guy can play anywhere on the field. His versatilely is one of the reasons the Texas Rangers signed him this offseason.

Well, the Rangers would rather not have Holt on the mound, there are times when a game gets out of hand and the bullpen needs resting. Brock can give you an inning here or there if that is the case.

We have fun when position players hit the mound (as do they), but rarely do they pencil their name into the record books. Brock Holt did just that with his latest exploits.

Texas Rangers third baseman Brock Holt is on record with throwing the slowest pitch since the pitch-tracking era began in 2008.

They say you don’t have to throw hard to be an effective pitcher. Locate your pitches well while changing speeds, and you can keep the hitter off balance. Brock Holt definitely kept them guessing.

Brock’s 31 mile per hour eephus pitch is now the slowest pitch in the history of pitches (since tracking began in 2008). I’m not sure you can throw a pitch any slower than that, which means this mark may stay in the books for some time. Had it not been an eephus pitch, Oakland A’s hitter Josh Harrison may very well have deposited it in the left field seats.

As it was, Harrison tapped the next pitch (a 32 mph eephus pitch) back to the mound. In fact, Holt allowed just one hit and pitched to the minimum in retiring the A’s without giving up any runs.

Holt’s fastball sat in the high seventies for most of the day, and topped out at 82. It’s not the fastball people are talking about though. It’s not the movement of his pitches that gets him in the record books. It’s the slow ball.

Holt is obviously a guy who doesn’t take himself too seriously. After his inning of work, he offered his glove and hat to be inspected for foreign substances.

There are two months left in the season. We’ll see if Holt’s 31 mph pitch can be topped (or under thrown) as the slowest pitch on record.