Watch: Rays pinch-hitter records one of the wildest inside-the-park HRs ever
Inside-the-park home runs almost always come with wacky circumstances, but on Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Rays may have recorded perhaps the wildest one in the rich history of baseball.
Pinch-hitting for centerfielder Jose Siri in the sixth inning, Luke Raley smashed a hanging slider from San Francisco Giants starter Ross Stripling into the gap in right centerfield at Oracle Park when the insanity ensued.
Raley's deep drive traveled 425 feet yet, somehow, stayed inside the ballpark. First, the ball bounced off the brick out-of-town scoreboard before perfectly pinballing down the top of the wall toward centerfield, away from the Giants outfielders in pursuit.
With the ball out of reach, Raley galloped around the bases, crossing home plate before the Giants had gotten the ball back into the infield.
While the unusual bounce off the wall certainly aided Raley's remarkable feat, the outfielder hustled on the base paths, making it from home to home in 15.3 seconds.
Raley's inside-the-parker was the 24th in Rays history but the first by a pinch-hitter. Also, to make things even odder, Raley's shot would've left every other park in the majors.
In his third year with the Rays, Raley has produced while seeing the most sustained playing time of his career. The 28-year-old has slashed .257/.340/.517 with 17 home runs and 43 RBI in 95 games.
Inside-the-park home runs aren't uncommon, and they still happen, may not as much as they did in the early days of baseball, but it's not unusual to see one.
However, when it comes to the hundreds that have occurred, Raley's will likely stand the test of time as one of the wackiest ever to grace a baseball diamond.
More must-reads: