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Jan 29, 2024

Diamondbacks rookie Slade Cecconi gets 1st career K ... thanks to a foul ball into his catcher's groin

Slade Cecconi can honestly say no pitcher in MLB had a first strikeout like his. The Arizona Diamondbacks rookie made his MLB debut Wednesday with a start against the San Francisco Giants. Against his

Slade Cecconi can honestly say no pitcher in MLB had a first strikeout like his.

The Arizona Diamondbacks rookie made his MLB debut Wednesday with a start against the San Francisco Giants. Against his first batter, LaMonte Wade Jr., Cecconi worked up a full count before throwing a very confusing pitch.

At first glance, the 94.8 mph fastball hit Wade in the hand. He quickly made his way to first base, but then the Diamondbacks challenged the call. Further replay showed that the pitch hit the knob of Wade's bat, which would usually mean a foul ball.

However, replay showed that the ball then careened into the groin of catcher Jose Herrera, which kept it off the ground. Because that meant Herrera technically caught a foul tip with two strikeouts, the umpires gave Cecconi one of the most bizarre first strikeouts you will ever seen.

"After review, the pitched ball hit the bat, went into the catcher's glove. The call is overturned. It's a foul ball, strike three," crew chief Dan Iassogna explained to the crowd, neglecting to mention the true destination of the ball.

Cecconi threw 4 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs while walking one and striking out two. The D-backs lost the game 4-2.

Arizona seemed to have some fun with the play, as manager Torey Lovullo told reporters after the game, via MLB.com:

“It's going to be talked about for a long time,” Lovullo said. “You can't dream up how you get your first career strikeout. Look, one day he’ll be able to tell a great story about my first one, and nobody will believe it. You’ll have to go to the tape for proof of that. We had a good laugh about it, though, in the dugout, but what he did was he settled in after that, made pitches and did a really good job.”

Herrera went in depth on how you try to catch a ball with your groin, which was apparently painless:

“It wasn't supposed to be like that for his first strikeout,” Herrera said with a laugh. “It was good that we got it for him. I held the ball long enough. I tried to hold it with my pants as long as I could. It was the first time in my career that something like that happened, and I kept holding the ball. It was pretty special.”

Cecconi is ranked as the No. 9 prospect in the Diamondbacks' system by MLB Pipeline, mostly thanks to a strong fastball-slider combination combined with a low walk rate. He is one of many young prospects making their way into the majors with Arizona these days, but he definitely made the most memorable first impression.