Randy Jones knew he’d miss his chance. He’d fallen into a 3-2 count to the Giants’ Marc Hill to open the eighth inning on this date — June 22 — in 1976. He’d tied Christy Mathewson’s NL record of 68 consecutive innings without a walk an inning earlier, but his mechanics slipped out of whack every so slightly as he delivered a fateful pitch to the right-handed-hitting Hill.
Jones’ only hope was going to be an ill-advised swing.
Hill didn’t bite.
“Before I let it go I knew it was going to be a ball,” Jones told the San Diego Union after the game.