Bobby Korecky

[William Malone]

Robert John Korecky was born on September 16, 1979 in Hillside, New Jersey.

The Philadelphia Phillies selected him in round 19 of the 2002 MLB Draft. He was traded to the Minnesota Twins as part of the return package for Eric Milton on December 17, 2003. Minnesota also received Nick Punto and Carlos Silva.

Korecky had 31 saves for the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats in 2004. Injuries limited him over the next few seasons, but a healthy Korecky had 35 saves for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings in 2007. The Twins called him up to the Majors on April 25, 2008. He made his big league debut the next night, allowing a run in one relief inning against the Texas Rangers.

His most memorable moment as a big league player came on May 19, 2008 in another game against the Rangers. Minnesota had lost their designated hitter and run out of bench bats during a 12 inning marathon game. This forced Korecky to bat, and he delivered a base hit against Texas reliever Frank Francisco in the 11th inning. This made him the first Twins pitcher since 1972 to record a hit in an American League game. They were unable to score that inning, leaving the bases loaded. Korecky tossed a 1-2-3 top of the 12th, and then Minnesota won in the bottom half on a Howie Clark walk-off double. Korecky was in the on-deck circle.

He made 16 big league relief appearances for the Twins in 2008, going 2-0 with a 4.58 ERA. The Twins waived him in the off-season.

The Arizona Diamondbacks claimed Korecky. He appeared in five Major League games for them in 2009. Korecky continued to pitch professionally until 2016, but his time in the big leagues was limited. He made one appearance for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012, and two more in 2014.

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