The Pecan Park Eagle

Thanks to contributor Bob Blair for this pictorial reminder that it finally happened back on September 23, 2007. When back-up shortstop Chin-lung Hu took the field in Arizona for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was playing in only his sixth MLB game in a brief career that only began on September 1, 2007. He entered this game with only one career hit, a solo home run in Dodger Stadium  off  Brett Tomko in the 9th inning of a 9-4 losing cause to the San Diego Padres on September 11, 2007. Hu also had been on base once previously as a pinch runner for Olmedo Saenz in a September 5, 2007, 8-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field, but that was at second base, following Saenz’s pinch hit double..

Through all five games he played through September 22, 2007, Hu never had been on first in any official capacity.

Then things changed.

On September 23, 2007, it came to be for Hu in a 7-1 romp for the Dodgers at Arizona. Chin-lung Hu went one for four, a single, with one run scored and one RBI. At last, we could all ask the famous question in the light of a fiction that now had transformed into a reality:

Hu’s on first?

Happy Under-Celebrated (and, perhaps, even unrecognized) Memories of 2007 from the year 2014, Chin-lung Hu, wherever you now may be!

Baseball Almanac Box ScoreLos Angeles Dodgers 7, Arizona Diamondbacks 1
Game played on Sunday, September 23, 2007 at Chase Field
Los Angeles Dodgers ab   r   h rbi Pierre cf 4 1 4 0 Abreu 2b 3 1 1 1   Valdez 2b 2 0 0 0 Kemp rf 5 0 1 0 Loney 1b 5 2 3 2 Martin c 4 1 2 0 Ethier lf 4 0 1 1 LaRoche 3b 3 1 1 1 Hu ss 4 1 1 1 Billingsley p 3 0 0 0   Beimel p 0 0 0 0   Young ph 1 0 1 0   Broxton p 0 0 0 0   Saito p 0 0 0 0 Totals 38 7 15 6	Arizona Diamondbacks ab   r   h rbi Young cf 4 1 1 0 Salazar rf 3 0 1 0 Byrnes lf 3 0 0 0 Clark 1b 4 0 1 0 Reynolds 3b 2 0 1 1 Snyder c 4 0 0 0 Drew ss 3 0 0 0 Ojeda 2b 4 0 1 0 Gonzalez p 0 0 0 0   Cruz p 0 0 0 0   Quentin ph 1 0 0 0   Nippert p 0 0 0 0   Murphy p 0 0 0 0   Medders p 0 0 0 0   Cirillo ph 1 0 0 0   Peguero p 0 0 0 0   Wickman p 0 0 0 0   Petit p 0 0 0 0 Totals 29 1 5 1
Los Angeles 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 0 – 7 15 0 Arizona 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 1 5 1   Los Angeles Dodgers IP H R ER BB SO Billingsley  W (12-5) 5.2 5 1 1 4 6   Beimel 1.1 0 0 0 0 0   Broxton 1.0 0 0 0 0 2   Saito 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 9.0 5 1 1 4 9   Arizona Diamondbacks IP H R ER BB SO Gonzalez  L (8-3) 3.1 8 3 3 0 2   Cruz 1.2 1 2 2 1 5   Nippert 1.0 1 0 0 0 2   Murphy 0.1 1 0 0 0 0   Medders 0.2 0 0 0 0 0   Peguero 0.2 0 1 1 2 0   Wickman 0.1 3 1 0 0 0   Petit 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 Totals 9.0 15 7 6 3 10 E–Drew (17).  DP–Los Angeles 2. Abreu-Hu-Loney, Abreu-Hu-Loney, Arizona 1. Reynolds-Ojeda-Clark.  HR–Los Angeles Abreu (2,1st inning off Edgar Gonzalez 0 on 1 out); Loney (13,5th inning off Cruz 1 on 2 out).  SF–Ethier (8,off Edgar Gonzalez).  Team LOB–8.  SH–Edgar Gonzalez (3,off Billingsley).  HBP–Drew (3,by Saito).  Team–7.  SB–LaRoche (2,2nd base off Wickman/Snyder).  CS–Pierre (14,2nd base by Edgar Gonzalez/Snyder); Martin (9,2nd base by Peguero/Snyder).  U-HP–Paul Emmel, 1B–Dan Iassogna, 2B–Dale Scott, 3B–Ron Kulpa.  T–3:21.  A–43,372.
Game played on Sunday, September 23, 2007 at Chase Field
Baseball Almanac Box Score |

The Rest of the Story ...

As dear old Paul Harvey used to love saying near the conclusion of his radio tales, “now here’s the rest of the story…!”

Shortly after this story was published this morning, The Pecan Park Eagle received a private e-mail from Ira Liebman, the radio and ESPN telecaster for the Sugar Land Skeeters. Ira had a point  to make  about his own lesser known, but primary role in the “Hu’s on First?” materialization. Had I know of it previously, it would have been included in our original story copy, but I sure as heck cannot let it go – now that I do know.

Ira Liebman wrote: “When I was at Triple-A, broadcasting for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (2006), I waited for three games for him (Hu) of the Jacksonville Suns) to get on first. He (finally) did on a force at  second and I said “who is literally on first” before Vin Scully ever saw him in the majors and did it.

The rest of the rest of the story is known to us today. If we are going to take the origin of this wonderful writers and broadcaster called shot to the minor league level, we also have to take into account that Hu broke into minor league ball with 67 hits for the Ogden Raptors even earlier back in 2003. We may not know the answer today, but we do have to allow for the probability that someone in that year or those that followed through 204-05 may even earlier had uttered, spoken, or written  the famous Abbott and Costello question into public play.

In the meanwhile, let’s give Ira Liebman his due. If he says he got there on the famous question call earlier than Vin Scully, that’s good enough for me.

…And that’s the rest of the story … for now. …… Good day!

Tags: Hu's on First

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