Guardians’ David Fry becomes first true position player to pitch 4 innings since 1988 in blowout loss to Twins

Things did not go well for the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night, but David Fry still made history at Progressive Field.

The catcher and utility man threw four innings in the Guardians’ blowout 20-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Monday, which made him the first true position player to pitch four innings in a game since 1988. Jose Oquendo was the last position player to pitch more than three innings that season for the St. Louis Cardinals, though he took the mound in a marathon 19-inning game, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

Fry allowed seven runs and 10 hits during his stint on the mound. All 64 of his pitches were slower than 60 miles per hour, which set another Major League Baseball record. No pitcher in the pitch tracking era had ever thrown more than 30 such pitches in a single game.