First he picked off Barry Bonnell. Then he picked off Dave Collins. To complete the inning, he picked off Willie Upshaw.
Tippy Martinez had a solid 10-year career as a left-handed reliever for the Orioles, but that moment on Aug. 24, 1983, -- when he picked off three Toronto Blue Jays in one inning -- defined it.
"Seems like everybody was there that night," Martinez said. "I hear about it even today. That's how I'm remembered. Which is OK."
Moments later, Lenn Sakata, in real life an infielder but who was, of all things, the catcher, hit a game-winning home run, capping a couple of the most bizarre innings in Orioles history.
Trailing Toronto 3-1 with two on and two outs in the ninth, the Orioles tied it on RBI singles by Benny Ayala and Al Bumbry, only to have the Blue Jays go back on top on Cliff Johnson's home run off Tim Stoddard leading off the 10th. Bonnell singled, Martinez came on and the fun started.
"I don't think Tippy had picked off three guys all year until then," Bumbry said. "He had one of the worst moves to first base for a left-hander I ever saw. The stars must have been aligned right that night."
Bonnell was edging off first base, eager to steal. The odds were in his favor, with Martinez and his poor pickoff move on the mound and Sakata behind the plate.
Although he hadn't caught since Little League, Sakata was rushed into the breach because Joe Altobelli, in a series of managerial maneuverings, had removed starter Rick Dempsey and his successor, Joe Nolan. Outfielder John Lowenstein was at second base, for the first time since 1975, and Gary Roenicke was at third, for the first time in the majors.
"When Sakata was on first base with a walk in the ninth, I hit my fist in my hand and pointed to him to show he would catch," Altobelli said. "Out there, he couldn't argue with me."
Other possible catching candidates, Jim Dwyer and Rich Dauer, already were out of the game. And Lowenstein? "I've caught enough to know if the need ever arose, I could not catch."
Without being told, Martinez knew he had to keep Bonnell close to the bag to prevent him from stealing on Sakata.
"Lenny wanted a chance to throw 'em out," Martinez said. "I said no way, not at my expense."
"The mask felt heavy and I really couldn't see out of the bars," Sakata said. "I didn't want to throw and give away my secret weapon -- the one-hop toss to second base."
