Malarkey: Why doesn't Joe Biden leave John Malarkey alone?

Malarkey: Why doesn’t Joe Biden leave John Malarkey alone?

By Houston Mitchell

Oct. 12, 2012 12 AM PT

&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;So I have the vice-presential debate on TV on Thursday night, while visiting my mom in the hospital, when something catches my ear while a nurse is visiting.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;”That’s a bunch of malarkey!” Vice President Joe Biden said to &amp;lt;runtime:topic id=”PEPLT005726”&amp;gt;Paul Ryan&amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;gt;, the Republican nominee for vice president.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;”What does former Washington Senators pitcher John Malarkey have to do with all of this?” I immediately think to myself.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;After all, Malarkey pitched for six season in the majors, retiring more than 100 years ago. Why drag his good name through the debate?&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;OK, sure, he finished with a 21-37 record, went 0-8 in 1895 and lost 16 games in his final season, so maybe Biden wanted to compare Ryan to a loser.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;But did Biden realize that Malarkey is the only pitcher in major-league history to win a game for himself by hitting a walkoff home run?&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;During a game in 1902, Malarkey (then with the Boston Beaneaters), facing Mike O’Neill of the St. Louis Cardinals, led off in the bottom of the 11th inning with a home run, giving Boston a 4-3 victory.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;What’s that you say? Biden was talking an entirely different kind of Malarkey?&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Well, never mind then.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

Malarkey: Why doesn’t Joe Biden leave John Malarkey alone?

More to Read

More From the Los Angeles Times