Barria bests Belt in record-setting 21-pitch at-bat
Ezra Shaw / Getty Images Sport / Getty
No pitcher has ever worked as hard as Jaime Barria did to retire Brandon Belt on Sunday afternoon at Angel Stadium.
In the top of the first inning in Anaheim, Barria needed 21 pitches to get Belt to fly out to right field, tossing 11 fastballs, six sliders, and four changeups in what is now the longest plate appearance, by pitch count, in MLB history.
Before the epic showdown Sunday, the longest plate appearance took place at Jacobs Field on June 26, 1998, when Bartolo Colon bested Rickey Gutierrez in a 20-pitch at-bat, eventually striking him out on a fastball.
Barria, making just his second start for the Los Angeles Angels, ended up throwing 49 pitches in a scoreless first inning, weaseling his way out of a bases-loaded situation.
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