Patrick Bailey pulled off a feat on Tuesday night that you might not see again for another century.
The San Francisco Giants catcher Bailey completed an improbable come-from-behind victory for the team against the Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif. The Giants were down 3-1 entering the bottom of the ninth inning with Phillies closer Jordan Romano on the mound.
San Francisco’s Casey Schmitt started off the party with a leadoff double, and Wilmer Flores followed two batters later with a single that put runners on the corners with one out. Bailey stepped up to the plate and immediately ambushed the first pitch from Romano.
The ball traveled to deep right-center and banged off the wall, missing the stands by just a few inches. But Bailey was in luck because the ball took a fortuitous hop and caromed away from both Phillies outfielders. That easily brought both baserunners home, and Bailey himself followed suit, waltzing into the plate standing up for an unbelievable walkoff inside-the-park home run.
Here is the thrilling video.
PATRICK BAILEY
— MLB (@MLB) July 9, 2025
WALK-OFF INSIDE-THE-PARK HOME RUN@SFGIANTS WIN! pic.twitter.com/xwswjv2fLP
According to Baseball Reference, that was MLB’s first walkoff inside-the-parker since Aug. 11, 1926. On that date, Bennie Tate (who was also a catcher) achieved the feat for the then-Washington Senators, giving them the victory over the New York Yankees. Jeff Passan of ESPN pointed out the incredible fact.
Patrick Bailey just hit the first inside-the-park walk-off home run from a catcher since Bennie Tate on Aug. 11, 1926, according to @baseball_ref. pic.twitter.com/yBNDs5cJnF
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 9, 2025
Like many catchers, the 26-year-old Bailey is not exactly known for his speed and has only swiped five total bases in his MLB career (with none this season). He is not much of a power hitter either and entered play on Tuesday batting .188 this year with a .531 OPS.
But none of that mattered to the baseball gods during San Francisco’s amazing comeback win over the Phillies. That was also quite the full circle moment considering that the Phillies victimized the Giants with an inside-the-park home run of their own a couple of years ago.
