Wake Up Call: How to pull a ‘Reverse Jeter’

Feb 21, 2011, 9:30 AM EDT

No, it’s not when you continue not to date actress Minka Kelly. In trying to keep his hitting streak alive, Florida International’s Garrett Wittels successfully convinced the home plate umpire that a pitch had hit the knob of his bat, instead of hitting his hand, which is what actually happened. Wittels was hitless at the time, and wanted another crack at extending his hitting streak to 57 games, one shy of Robin Ventura’s 58-game Division I record for Oklahoma State in 1987. The NCAA all-divisions mark is 60 games by Damian Costantino of Division III Salve Regina (2001-03).

But his ploy didn’t work. In Friday’s season opener against Southeastern Louisiana, Wittels went 0-for-4, ending the streak at 57.

Wittels reached on a fielder’s choice in the first, fouled out near the right-field bullpen in the third and grounded out to third in the sixth inning — one pitch after successfully lobbying plate umpire Michael Baker that a ball which appeared to hit his hand actually hit the knob of his bat instead.

Afterward, Wittels acknowledged that he was hit by the pitch.

“Worst moment in baseball I’ve ever been a part of in my life,” Wittels said. “I got hit by a pitch and I was selfish and didn’t take my base. Honestly, I’m more (upset) about that than not continuing into history. … I don’t really know what was going through my head at the time.”

So is it cheating to say you haven’t been hit by a pitch when you actually have? In his We Know What You Did Last Summer moment against Tampa Bay, Jeter did the opposite — pretending to get hit by a pitch when replays showed it actually hit his bat. Rays’ manager Joe Maddon got thrown out while arguing the play, and if that’s not the ultimate example of why we need instant replay, nothing is. (Selig shrugs, continues eating sandwich).

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ABOUT LAST NIGHT

What you missed while heroically flying in Playboy Magazines to ice fishermen at a frozen lake in New Hampshire …