Adley ‘Clutchman’ Rutschman hits first walk-off; did an ABC hit comedy predict it?
It seemed like only a matter of time for Adley Rutschman.
He’s had the nickname “Clutchman” since college for his ability to perform when the pressure is highest. A popular sitcom sent good vibes — or an uncanny prediction.
Plus, the guy is flat-out good. He’s batting .373 with a 1.094 in 51 plate appearances so far this year — his first full season as a big leaguer.
So, it’s really not that surprising that Rutschman, the Orioles starting catcher/phenom, would clinch Thursday’s roller coaster with the Oakland Athletics, 8-7, in the bottom of the ninth with a 405-foot rocket into the right-center stands.
“He’s a freak, he’s a beast,” Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle said. “Just seems like he’s always on everything at the plate, and defensively, too. He’s just amazing, a great player, and I’m excited to see how he grows.”
Rutschman led off the bottom of the ninth with the game knotted at 7-7. The first pitch from Oakland reliever Trevor May was a ball. The second was a 93 mph, center-cut fastball that Rutschman crushed — 104 mph off the bat.
Did he know he got all of it?
“Honestly, I just kinda like blacked out,” Rutschman joked. “I don’t know. One of those moments that you hit it and you just kind of start running because you don’t know what’s going on. Yeah. Glad it went over the fence.”
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said he was just hoping Rutschman would set things up for Mountcastle, whose bat also has been smoldering lately.
“I’m just looking for him to get on base,” Hyde said. “But I’m just looking for him to take a good at-bat and hopefully we can get something going leading off the inning. Get on base for Mountcastle there. But I’ll take a homer.”
The dramatic blast gave the Orioles three wins in four attempts against the struggling Oakland Athletics (3-10) and pushed them to 7-6 on the season, with a five-game road trip to Chicago and Washington, D.C. coming up.
It also provided Rutschman his first Gatorade shower at home plate, which meant he didn’t actually get to chug from the Orioles’ new “Homer Hose.” He’s OK with that, for now.
“The Gatorade bath means we won, so that’s always a good sign,” Rutschman said. “But the Homer Hose is unbeatable, I think.”
It was Rutschman’s first walk-off of any kind as a pro. His last two walk-offs both came in April 2018 in consecutive games for Oregon State University against the University of Nevada. The first was a liner in the 11th inning that Nevada’s center fielder dropped for a walk-off error. The very next night, Rutschman lined another ball to center, and it ended up as an inside-the-park walk-off homer. He’s never had one of the traditional, over-the-wall variety before Thursday.
“I think I had (walk-offs) back-to-back nights. One was a line drive to center and the next night was a line drive to center and that the guy dived for and missed,” Rutschman said. “Sorry, that’s old college (stories). Gotta close the yearbook.”
He certainly has turned the page, and yet the “Clutchman” moniker remains.
“I think he likes to be up there when the game is on the line,” Hyde said. “He likes to be up there in RBI spots, and he’s got a lot of confidence.”
So, yeah, maybe it was just a matter of time before Rutschman’s first walk-off dinger. Or maybe it was predestined by … television.
Wednesday night’s episode of the ABC comedy “Abbott Elementary,” which is based in Philadelphia, predicted Thursday’s outcome. Sort of.
One of the show’s characters, teacher Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams), who is from Baltimore, relays an Orioles score to another character, saying the O’s won 5-3 and, “Adley Rutschman hit an opposite-field walk-off homer and Cedric Mullins was a single shy of the cycle.”
Mullins went 1-for-4 Thursday and Rutschman’s walk-off was from the left side of the batter’s box.
Perhaps life doesn’t 100 percent imitate art.
Or maybe destiny isn’t too worried about the details.
