I was paying attention to Matt Stairs more closely to see when he’d get his first hit at all this season. Little did I know -- until I read Adam Kilgore’s story in this morning’s Washington Post anyway -- that the hit he had in last night’s game was his 100th career pinch hit.
Strange career for a neat guy. There aren’t many non-head cases who have played for a bunch of different teams, but Stairs is decidedly not that and has played for 13. A lot of that has to do with his pinch-hitting rep -- those guys don’t last on the same team for a very long time -- but I kind of suspect that a lot of guys could be pinch hitters. With Stairs I’m sure it has a lot to do with his willingness to take on the role with little fuss and the fact that he’s really likable. Need a pinch hitter this year? OK, call Stairs.