Bullpen car

The bullpen car of the Boston Red Sox

The bullpen car, also known as a bullpen cart, is used in professional baseball to bring relief pitchers into the game from the bullpen to the pitcher's mound during a pitching change. Bullpen cars were used in Major League Baseball from 1950 through 1995, and returned to use in 2018. They have been used in Nippon Professional Baseball since the 1980s.

History

The first bullpen car introduced in Major League Baseball (MLB) was "a little red auto" used by the Cleveland Indians in 1950 at the large Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Chicago White Sox followed suit in 1951, becoming the first team to transport the pitcher from the bullpen all the way to the pitcher's mound.[1] The White Sox discontinued the practice in 1955 after fans continued throwing garbage at the car.[2] In 1959, the Milwaukee Braves began to use a (locally-produced) Harley-Davidson Topper with a sidecar as a bullpen car.[3]

In 1963, the Los Angeles Angels became the first team to use a golf cart as their bullpen car. The New York Mets introduced a bullpen car based on a golf cart with an oversized team hat in 1967.[4] The New York Yankees began using a Datsun 1200 painted with pinstripes in 1972. Rats chewed through the Datsun's cables,[5] and the team switched to a Toyota Celica in 1982.[2][4] The White Sox introduced a bullpen car built off of a Chrysler LeBaron in 1981,[4] but it was also unpopular with pitchers, who refused to ride in it, and fans, who threw garbage at it.[2]

Naoya Masuda riding in a Toyota MR-S bullpen car

The Seattle Mariners began using a version designed to look like a tugboat in 1982,[6] called the M.S. Relief. On Opening Day of the 1982 season, the Mariners' Bill Caudill hid the keys to the bullpen car, causing a delay in the start of the game.[7] Caudill organized a boycott of the tugboat, saying that it "should be fined as an embarrassment to the team".[8] No Mariners player ever rode in the tugboat, and it was removed from use less than a week later.[2][9]

Pitchers disliked the bullpen cars, leading to them being phased out. The last MLB team to use a bullpen car prior to its reintroduction in 2018 was Milwaukee, which phased out their motorcycle (which was also produced by Harley-Davidson) in 1995.[1]

The bullpen car remained in use in Japanese baseball. Most of them are convertibles so that fans can see the players inside, including many one-offs provided to the teams by the manufacturer. In the 1980s, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball introduced a bullpen car, a one-off Datsun Bluebird (910) convertible.[10] It was the first of a few bullpen cars provided by Nissan to their hometown team. It would be followed by a Be-1 and S-Cargo in the 90s.[11] In 2017, the BayStars began using the Nissan Leaf, while Yasuaki Yamasaki used a Toyota MR-S to enter games.[12][13] The Tokyo Yakult Swallows also use a custom Nissan, a one-off Y34 Cedric roadster.[14] The Hanshin Tigers currently use a modified smart fortwo convertible.[15]

In KBO League in South Korea, Kia Tigers uses white Kia EV9 as their bullpen car in 2023, 2024 Season.[16] It entered use in 2014 at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field. Hanwha Eagles uses Porsche Taycan as bullpen car in 2024 season.[17]

The Sugar Land Space Cowboys of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league, introduced a bullpen car in 2012.[5][18]

With an increasing focus on speeding up the pace of play of MLB games, MLB had a committee discuss bringing back the bullpen car in 2015.[19][20] The Arizona Diamondbacks announced they would introduce their first bullpen car prior to the 2018 season.[21] While the car was available on Opening Day, March 29, 2018, the first reliever to make use of it was Collin McHugh on May 5, 2018, for a sixth-inning relief role in the Diamondbacks' 18th home game of the season.[22] The Detroit Tigers were the second team to introduce a bullpen car, on April 13, 2018,[23] and the Washington Nationals became the third team to introduce one, on August 17, 2018.[24] A bullpen car designed to look like a baseball glove was used during the 2020 Summer Olympics.[25][26]

References

  1. ^ a b Lukas, Paul (October 19, 2007). "Lukas: Long live the bullpen car". ESPN. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Fitzgerald, Craig (October 25, 2013). "Bullpen Cars: How '70s World Series Pitchers Went to the Mound". Yahoo.com. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  3. ^ Foran, Chris (August 9, 2016). "Our Back Pages: County Stadium's pioneering bullpen cart". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Clair, Michael (February 2, 2018). "The life, death and rebirth of the bullpen cart". MLB.com. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Caldwell, Dave (October 11, 2012). "A Baseball Veteran Returns to the Mound: The Bullpen Car". The New York Times. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  6. ^ Bierman, Fred (August 2, 2010). "Nice Ride". The New York Times. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  7. ^ Perry, Dayn (October 31, 2013). "Just because: The greatest bullpen car of all-time". CBSSports.com. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  8. ^ "M's pen: Thought weak before season, relief corps has been strong suit". The Seattle Times. May 19, 1982. p. D1.
  9. ^ Finnigan, Bob (April 20, 1982). "Relievers scuttle boat gimmick". The Seattle Times. p. D2.
  10. ^ "Video: Custom Nissans used for baseball promos". Japanese Nostalgic Car. April 7, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  11. ^ Andrews, Kendra (April 11, 2017). "Yokohama DeNA BayStars' Bullpen Car Is Electric Nissan Leaf With Zero Emissions". SportTechie. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  12. ^ Landers, Chris. "This Japanese league closer rode in from the bullpen atop a sweet sports car". MLB.com. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  13. ^ Axisa, Mike (June 27, 2017). "Watch: Japanese league closer enters the game from the bullpen in a convertible". CBSSports.com. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  14. ^ "２０１７年大活躍したマスコットたちのフォト集／ヤクルト". サンスポ. Sankei Digital. December 30, 2017.
  15. ^ "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  16. ^ 이, 후광 (August 26, 2023). "Kia 타이거즈, 시구·불펜카로 대형 전기 SUV EV9 선보인다". 조선비즈. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  17. ^ 이, 세민 (April 2, 2024). "8경기 7승 1패 달라진 한화, 올 시즌 불펜카로 포르쉐 타이칸 등장". M투데이. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  18. ^ "C'mon And Take A Free Ride". ESPN. June 6, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  19. ^ Crasnick, Jerry (March 31, 2015). "Time to bring back bullpen carts?". ESPN. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  20. ^ Anderson, R.J. (February 2, 2018). "MLB is reportedly considering bringing back bullpen carts to improve pace of play: Bullpen carts are viewed as a potential answer to the pace of play problem". CBS Sports. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  21. ^ Rovell, Darren (March 6, 2018). "Golf cart to bring in relief pitchers is reborn with Diamondbacks". ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  22. ^ "In 18th game, new D-backs bullpen cart makes first trip". ESPN. May 6, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  23. ^ "Tigers set to unveil new bullpen cart Friday, and you're going to want to see the design". CBS Sports. April 13, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  24. ^ "The Nationals have a new bullpen cart, but most of their relievers don't expect to use it". Washington Post. August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  25. ^ Robinson, Andrew Beaton and Joshua (July 31, 2021). "The Zen of the Olympic Bullpen Cart". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  26. ^ "Ride in style: The bullpen car is the Olympic Games' best amenity". ESPN.com. July 30, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.