Catchers aren't often described as fast. San Francisco Giants backstop Patrick Bailey certainly has catcher wheels.
But on Tuesday night, when he blasted a ball deep to right-center and got a fortuitous misdirection bounce off the wall, Bailey got to show that he's plenty fast enough to make MLB history.
Bailey stepped to the plate down two runs in the bottom of the ninth with two on. And by the time the baseball was retrieved from a very different part of the outfield than where it had been tracking off the bat, Bailey was sprinting through home with a walk-off, inside-the-park home run.
It's been 99 years since the last time a catcher hit an inside-the-park walk-off homer. Bennie Tate did it on Aug. 11, 1926.
Patrick Bailey just hit the first inside-the-park walk-off home run from a catcher since Bennie Tate on Aug. 11, 1926, according to @baseball_ref. pic.twitter.com/yBNDs5cJnF
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 9, 2025
MORE: Cal Raleigh breaks Ken Griffey Jr.'s incredible Mariners record
Tuesday was quite the day for inside-the-park homers.
For the Athletics, Lawrence Butler hit a leadoff inside-the-parker.
Bailey's stole the final headlines, though.
It was an unlucky bounce for the Phillies, to be sure. There wasn't much that could be done about such a fluky play.
But it was all bliss for the Giants, a chance to sprint around the bases and hold a party at home plate after one of the rarest plays in baseball history.
MORE MLB NEWS:
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s $500 million contract shining bright so far
- Pirates have a prospect named Iverson Allen
- Aaron Judge vs. Cal Raleigh race takes center stage
- A good reason to remember Travis Hafner's greatness
- Cal Raleigh called his Home Run Derby shot when he was 8 years old
- Yankees call up tall star for MLB debut