It was announced Saturday that injured San Diego Padres pitcher Micah Owings is ready to put his recent stint on the disabled list and return to the Majors.
As a position player.
“It’s a new adventure, a new challenge. I’m excited,” the 29-year-old said. “I’ll be a position player who can also pitch.”
Padres skipper Bud Black said that Owings will report to the team’s Arizona League affiliate. He is expected to play two or three games in Peoria before going to Triple-A Tucson.
Owings will play first base, left field and designated hitter.
Picking up a bat isn’t a new concept for the 6’5″ now-former hurler. In 205 career at bats, Owings has a .283 batting average, nine home runs and 35 RBI. Oh…and for you metricheads, dude has a career OPS+ of 106.
Almost as impressive as Owings big league stats is what he accomplished in high school. Sure, it’s a long time ago, but, still…pretty cool. As a sophomore, he hit .630 with 21 homers and as a senior, he hit .448 with 25 home runs.
Owings actually holds Georgia’s high school home run record with 69.
Making the change from pitcher to position player isn’t a crazy concept. You might remember Washington Nationals outfielder Rick Ankiel actually started his big league career on the mound for the St. Louis Cardinals and in his first full season at the plate, he hit .264 with 25 home runs and 71 RBI.
Shazam!
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