The Mets and the Cardinals played 18 scoreless innings last night, with the Cards ultimately losing 2-1 in 20. The losing pitcher was St. Louis centerfielder Joe Mather, who also played 3rd base after entering the game as a pinch-hitter.
Non-pitchers have been particularly bad as pitchers over the last 40 years:
| ERA | K-BB Ratio | |
| Pitchers | 4.08 | 1.73 |
| Non-Pitchers | 7.85 | 0.5 |
Ouch! That's basically the pitching equivalent of a pitcher hitting. You are certainly better off letting a tired reliever continue to pitch (provided you don't think he'll hurt himself) than putting Jose Canseco on the mound (and having him hurt himself anyways.)
