Trailing 11–3 heading into the ninth inning of Sunday’s game against the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs manager David Ross turned to journeyman catcher Tucker Barnhart on the mound to get his team’s final three outs. The result: One of the funniest pitches of the year.
Barnhart, making his second appearance of the season on the mound, turned to an eephus pitch to fool Red Sox hitters. 11 of his 12 pitches registered at under 45 miles per hour (the lone exception was a fastball that clocked in at 74.8 mph), with the slowest coming in at just 37.6 mph. One eephus dropped a remarkable 182 inches (more than 15 feet) per Codify Baseball.
Tucker Barnhart, 39 MPH Paint 🖌️🎨
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) July 17, 2023
182 inches of drop 😂 pic.twitter.com/ptKyodPgWb