Tom Selleck was a well-known fan of the Detroit Tigers, having been born in Detroit, and a huge Al Kaline supporter, and when the opportunity to actually play a game arose, Tom did not hesitate. The star of the film Mr. 3000, in which he played a New York Yankee, may have rubbed off of him in 1991, as the MLB recalls this startling coaching decision during a Spring Training game:
Tigers manager Sparky Anderson surprised Selleck during the April 3 contest, calling on him to pinch-hit in the seventh inning. So Selleck stepped into the batter’s box, bad hamstring from the day before and all, in the eighth against right-hander Tim Layana, who himself had a 3.49 ERA out of the bullpen the year before for the World Series champions. Selleck got into a 1-2 hole, but he actually fouled off three pitches with a pretty decent-looking swing. But alas, Mr. Baseball struck out on a devastating knuckle-curveball.Someone just shared a video of the at-bat experience on Facebook, and it was fun to relive his attempt to have the greatest professional batting % in baseball history. As one reader pointed out, he isn’t the only actor who has stepped into a professional batter’s box:
This is pretty cool. This reminds me of a game I went to for our single A team(66ers) in San Bernardino, CA where the Mariners came to play them for a spring training game and Kevin Costner played for the 66ers. Lou Pinella even stepped up to the plate to face Costner.
Watch Him Take Some Cuts At The Ball Below
