The bullpen cart is back in the big leagues.
Nearly a quarter-century since relievers stopped catching rides to the mound, the Arizona Diamondbacks said Tuesday they will use a buggy — topped by the requisite oversized team cap — to transport pitchers from both bullpens at Chase Field.
“I don’t know how it will be getting driven in, but I think it’s a cool idea and we’ll have some fun with it,” Diamondbacks closer candidate Archie Bradley said.
With Major League Baseball looking for ways to speed up things, it’s hard to tell whether this will save any time. But it’s certain to be a hit with fans, especially the kids the game is trying to attract.
“I love it. I love it. I love,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. “It brings a little personality. We’re probably the only sport that can do something like that.”
The last known time a team in the majors used a motorized vehicle — some clubs had actual cars — to relay relievers was 1995, when the Milwaukee Brewers shuttled them in a motorcycle with a sidecar.
Baseball historians have tracked the use of bullpen carts to 1950, when the Indians first used a “little red wagon.” The first official use came in 1951 with the Chicago White Sox.
The Kansas City Athletics added one in 1955, and by the 1960s, the carts could be found across the majors and minors.
