When it comes to pitchers batting, most at-bats are boring and non-competitive, and they're over quick. They don't add to the game's entertainment value a whole lot.
Most pitchers are not Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto, however. On Thursday night, he got a running start into a swing, Happy Gilmore style. Check it out:
That particular swing resulted in a routine groundout to third base. Cueto actually ran up in the box like that twice in the at-bat. He ran into a bunt on the first pitch but it went foul.
Cueto stepped out of the batter's box with his front foot, so the swing was illegal. If a batter makes contact with a pitch while stepping outside the batter's box, the ball is dead and he is called out regardless of whether the ball is hit fair or foul. Cueto gets an A for effort though.
Maybe one day a batter will actually perfect the Happy Gilmore swing and successfully run into a pitch without stepping out of the batter's box. That would be something else. It's hard enough to hit a baseball standing still. Imagine trying to do it while running forward.
