The amazing do-it-all career of Bill Pecota?

A version of this story originally ran in December 2020.

You may not think of former Royals superutility player Bill Pecota all that often these days. That's understandable. Pecota, who celebrates a birthday today, hung up his cleats in 1994 after nine seasons in the Major Leagues. Though he was never much of a hitter -- finishing his career with a .249 batting average and 22 home runs -- he was the consummate supersub. He was an excellent defender, with a glove for every position, and he had a sharp eye and deep passion for the game.

He also had a bizarre, almost Forrest Gump-like ability to be connected to some amazing moments in baseball history. He hit back-to-back home runs with Bo Jackson. He played all nine positions. He gave up a cycle as a pitcher. And, oh yeah, he was honored by Nate Silver when the legendary stats guru named his baseball projection system PECOTA.

In a long conversation, Pecota discussed his odd place in baseball legend and lore -- and along the way he taught me a little bit about baseball and how a player sees the game. Here are some the wild stories from the Royals cult hero's career.

Back-to-back with Bo Jackson

There are probably no two players less alike: Pecota was a slick-fielding defensive whiz, while Jackson was a superhuman marvel. So, sure enough, Pecota’s first Major League home run was hit back to back with Jackson on May 8, 1987, off Cleveland’s Rich Yett in the top of the ninth.

“I remember hitting it. It was like, 'Cool, I got one,'” Pecota said in a phone call. “I didn't have very many home runs, anyway. Even in the Minor Leagues. I hit a few -- enough to be able to do it occasionally. I had the old-school swing, you know, not like today's swing. I hit it on the ground, grounders and liners.”

Hilariously, even though it was his first home run, Pecota remembers more about Jackson’s long ball than his own:

“Bo actually hit a popup down the right-field line," Pecota said. "And he was kind of looking for the ball. He didn't really know where he hit it. You see guys do that occasionally. He feels a kind of a glancing blow and he looks out in the outfield, like, ‘Where'd it go?’ He didn't run at first because it felt to him it felt like a foul ball. I remember because I was on deck and I was laughing. And then I just hit a regular homer to left.”

Three home runs in Yankee Stadium

Though Pecota wasn't known for his power, he did have one perfect day in the Bronx on July 14, 1989, when the Royals played the Yankees in a doubleheader. Pecota hit two home runs in the opener and then smashed another in the nightcap. Even stranger: He didn’t hit another home run all year. (“Isn’t that hilarious?” Pecota said.)

Per the Elias Sports Bureau, Pecota is one of only two players to hit all of his season’s home runs on one day. The other: Dan Johnson, who did it with a three-homer game for the White Sox on Oct. 3, 2012. But there was one big difference: Johnson was a September callup who played in only 14 games that year. Pecota was on the roster all year and played in 65.

“It was a very weird experience,” Pecota said. “I only got that feeling one time where I literally felt like the guys were pitching from second base. I don't know why it happened. Yankee Stadium is a fantastic place to hit because the batter’s eye is solid black and the wind was blowing out, the ball was carrying -- a bunch of homers were hit in that doubleheader.

“The first one was off of [Lance] McCullers and he threw gas. He brought it up there 92 mph or whatever it was and it felt like I was waiting for the fastball to get there. I remember the second one was off a slider from Dale Mohorcic. Of course, again, it felt like it was a 50 mph slider because everything was slow -- it was almost like slowpitch softball.”

The third one, which came in the second game of the doubleheader, came off Clay Parker’s palm ball -- “kind of a slippy thing that doesn’t spin very much,” Pecota said.

But, just like his first home run, what stands out to the former Royals utility infielder isn’t the three home runs or the single and double he added, but what he didn’t do in his final at-bat of the day.

“I got up with the bases loaded and in the top of the ninth, one out. We're winning by one run. And I waited a little too long," Pecota said. "[Lee] Guetterman was the pitcher. Fastball right down the middle. The best pitch I got to hit all night, and I was just a little behind it. I hit a one-hopper to shortstop for a double play. I think of all the pitches and that was the one I should have hit out. Then that would have been a special night: Four homers with a grand slam. That would have been pretty cool. So, you're always looking for the next home run. It’s like, ‘If only I would have made a few more putts, I would have shot 68 instead of 71.’

"The weird thing was the next day, that feeling was gone. I didn't do anything different, just came back to the old feeling of, ‘Well, [the pitchers] are throwing hard.’”

His life as a catcher

For many players, catcher is probably the toughest of the positions to pull off. Fortunately, Pecota, who was primarily an infielder, was drafted as a catcher -- kind of.

Pecota was a third baseman at De Anza College when Royals scout Richard Schlenker came out to see him. Schlenker liked what he saw and wanted to draft him in the January portion of the 1981 Draft. The only problem? George Brett was in Kansas City.

“So, they signed me and I went to winter rookie league and they threw catcher’s gear at me,” Pecota said. “And that was my sole position, but it was only a half a season. I butchered it up so bad. After the rookie league season I went back for instructional league and the equipment guy goes, ‘Give me your catcher's gear back. You're not catching anymore.’ I go, ‘That's the best news I've ever heard.’ I was bad, it was an ugly deal. So, theoretically I did sign as a catcher and I did learn a lot, enough to be the third catcher on the big league team.”

Sure enough, at some point that third catcher was needed: On Aug. 6, 1988, Pecota came on to replace Jamie Quirk in the bottom of the ninth with the Royals leading the Blue Jays 11-1.

“I never asked to go catch, so I can get the position under my belt. That never came up in conversation. [John] Wathan was the manager, and he said, 'Get the gear and go catch the last inning.'"

With Steve Farr on the mound, the two breezed through the inning on three straight groundouts. Pecota was also calling the pitches behind the plate.

“Your mind is always going on what pitch your team should throw -- that's constant. That never ends," Pecota said. "When I was in Atlanta, [coach] Pat Corrales and I would sit next to each other every single game, in the same spot, and we'd call every pitch -- what we think we should throw and we'd argue back and forth, which is all fun stuff. ‘Gotta throw a changeup here. You got to throw in something that starts in the zone and drops out of it, and this guy's gonna fish for it.’ And Pat's going, ‘No, I'd throw my fastball,’ and one of us would win. It's that kind of thing. You're totally into the game when you're not playing. It’s amazing how drained I would be after not playing.”

His brief pitching career

Pecota then finished off all nine positions when he came in to pitch the final two innings of the Royals’ 9-4 loss to the Angels on June 24, 1991. That puts Pecota on the short list of just 22 AL/NL players to accomplish the feat of playing every position since 1901.

But there is also one significant difference between then and now: In 2021, position players (not counting Shohei Ohtani) came out to pitch nearly 100 times. In 1991, Pecota’s appearance was one of 12 in the season.

“I was just throwing fastballs," Pecota said. "Mike Macfarlane was catching. I was throwing 82 or 84. Perfect batting practice speed for these guys. I think they hit a couple ropes off me. I called Mac out and I go, ‘We got to put a wrinkle into something. We can't do this or this is just going to get uglier.’ We didn't want that, so I threw some sliders. Started throwing some hooks and they made outs."

Of course, given the importance he placed on his defense, Pecota was disappointed in his defensive effort on the mound when Dave Parker hit a ground ball to first base and he forgot to cover.

"Never would think about that, huh?" Pecota said. "I don't do PFP [pitchers' fielding practice] all Spring Training. In that situation, you're a little bit nervous. Your brain's going all over the place because you're not a pitcher. I didn't cover first. It's a base hit. I was like, 'Oh, man, that's embarrassing,' because I prided myself on being prepared at all the positions.”

There's one other reason this game stands out: Dave Winfield hit the only cycle of his Hall of Fame career on this day. And who was the pitcher on the mound when he completed his feat with a triple? Yeah, you guessed it -- Bill Pecota.

“Sorry, Dave, you didn’t get it off a real pitcher,” Pecota said with a laugh.

After being traded to the Mets the next season, Pecota became the very first Mets position player to pitch. It would take seven years before Matt Franco became the next.

“Andy Van Slyke took me yard," Pecota said. "He went way deep on me. It sounded like an absolute gunshot going off, so I go, ‘Holy cow, it's gone.’”

PECOTA projections

Now, you may not realize this, but the famous PECOTA projection system -- created by FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver -- was named in honor of the infielder. Supposedly, Silver wanted to name it after the most average player possible.

“Better than being below average,” Pecota joked.

“I've fielded lots of questions about that over the years,” Pecota added. “I don't think people relate it to me anymore unless you read what it's based on. It's been a long time since I've played. I wish I could get some royalties off it somehow.”

His favorite memory

After making Pecota live through the above moments, I asked about his favorite memory from his playing days. That came on July 17, 1991, when he laced the game-winning single in the bottom of the 15th to defeat the Orioles.

“I do remember walking off a game in Kansas City when George was on second against Baltimore,” Pecota said. “I had a base hit up the middle and he scored -- it was hilarious. I run to first and stop. Me and Lynn Jones, the first-base coach, are going 'GO GEORGE! GO GEORGE!' He slid in safe and we all went wild. We actually were jumping around a little bit. Back in the day you never did that. This one actually I chucked my helmet. Some guys ran out. We're going crazy. But then just immediately right in the dugout and up the tunnel. Not these super celebrations they do now. They actually have more fun. You know, we didn't fraternize or anything back in the day. It was against the rules. The fun factor is probably a lot better now.”

Portions of this interview have been edited for length and clarity.