Who knows how long Josh Walker will have to sit on being the last pitcher to commit a walk-off balk? Before last night, it had only been since July 8 of last year, when Rays pitcher Matt Wisler balked with not-yet-a-Met Tyler Naquin at the plate in the 10th inning in Cincinnati, but before that, it had been nearly four years since Dylan Floro, then with the Dodgers, balked with the bases loaded in Seattle to let Cameron Maybin come home with a 10th-inning winning run.
If Walker is lucky, he won’t have to wait until the end of the season. There have been a couple of other times that there were multiple walk-off balks in a single campaign: Ernie Broglio of the Cubs was called for one in the 14th inning on April 28, 1965, in Cincinnati, followed on June 8 by Astros hurler Hal Woodeshick balking with the bases loaded in the 11th inning in Pittsburgh. Also, in 2000, we saw Jeff Zimmerman balk in Baltimore to give the Orioles a 4-3 win over the Rangers — also on April 28 — and then just 10 days later, John Rocker gifting the Marlins a victory, with Danny Bautista scoring the winning run after pinch-running for Paul Bako. Last but not least, in 2011, there were walk-off balks by D.J. Carrasco costing the Mets a game in Atlanta on June 16, and then Aaron Crow with the Royals, as the White Sox won on the Fourth of July.
Walker is definitely lucky in one way: he’s on the 2023 Mets, and last night’s loss is just going to blend into the background of all the misery.
We Can Pod It Out 163: Octopus's Garden