ANAHEIM — After more than seven seasons in the minor leagues, A's catcher Beau Taylor finally recorded his first Major League hit, a double in Sunday's regular season finale against the Angels.
He actually had to wait a little longer to reach second base, as he slipped and fell to the dirt rounding first.
“You saw that?” Taylor joked after the game. “Everybody was laughing and cheering me on. ... The umpire was right away with the 'sniper' and everything. He was pointing up in the stands exactly where it was at.”
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Added manager Bob Melvin: “That was great. He's never going to forget that. ... When you face-plant going around first base, it's one you're never going to forget. Everybody was pretty excited about it -- both ends of it -- the hit and the face-plant.”
Taylor, 28, saw his first big league action earlier this month at catcher. Now he has a Major League hit in four career at-bats.
“A little bit of relief,” he said. “It felt good. And I got the ball.”
“That was funny,” added Khris Davis. “I'm glad he got it out of the way. He's a really good player and I expect to see good things out of him. He's got a bright future.”
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Here are some other notes from Sunday's regular season finale...
--- Starting pitcher Brett Anderson was a little bit sore, but otherwise okay, after taking a Shohei Ohtani line drive off the backside.
“(I feel) like I got hit by a 110 mph line drive,” he joked. “But my whole goal was to look tougher than when (Daniel) Mengden rolled halfway to the home plate dirt the other day (when he got hit).”
--- Reliever J.B. Wendelken pitched his 13th consecutive scoreless inning in relief. He has allowed just one run in 16 2/3 innings this season for an ERA of 0.54.
“You look at the numbers, it's been a quick ascend, for good reason,” said Melvin. “He's got good stuff, and he's gaining confidence having success at the big league level. We think he's going to be a heck of a pitcher.”
--- The A's hit two home runs to finish the season with 136 road homers, tying the American League record.
--- Oakland finished the season 97-65, their best record since 2002. The 97 wins mark a 22-win improvement from last season, the third largest improvement in franchise history.
--- Designated hitter Khris Davis went 0-for-2 and finished the season with a .247 batting average for the fourth consecutive season, setting a Major League record. He led MLB with 48 home runs and finished second with 123 RBI, both career highs.