![Red_Sox_Bullpen_Cart_(7224550882)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Red_Sox_Bullpen_Cart_%287224550882%29.jpg)
The bullpen car, also known as a bullpen cart, is used in
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
to bring
relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...
s into the game from the
bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...
to the
pitcher's mound
A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...
during a pitching change. Bullpen cars were used in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
from 1950 through 1995, and returned to use in 2018. They have been used in
Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
since the 1980s.
History
The first bullpen car introduced in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB) was "a little red auto" used by the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
in 1950 at the large
Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Cleveland Stadium, commonly known as Municipal Stadium, Lakefront Stadium or Cleveland Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball an ...
. The
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
followed suit in 1951, becoming the first team to transport the pitcher from the
bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...
all the way to the
pitcher's mound
A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...
.
The White Sox discontinued the practice in 1955 after fans continued throwing garbage at the car.
[ In 1959, the ]Milwaukee Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...
began to use a (locally-produced) Harley-Davidson Topper
The Harley-Davidson Topper was the only motor scooter that the Harley-Davidson Motor Company ever produced.
Design and specifications
The Topper had a single-cylinder two-stroke engine mounted horizontally between the floorboards. The engine re ...
with a sidecar
A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, making the whole a three-wheeled vehicle. A motorcycle with a sidecar is sometimes called a ''combination'', an ''outfit'', a ''rig'' or a ''hack''.
...
as a bullpen car.
In 1963, the Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
became the first team to use a golf cart
A golf cart (alternatively known as a golf buggy or golf car) is a small motorized vehicle designed originally to carry two golfers and their golf clubs around a golf course with less effort than walking. Over time, variants were introduced t ...
as their bullpen car. The New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
introduced a bullpen car based on a golf cart with an oversized team hat in 1967. The New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
began using a Datsun 1200
The is an automobile built by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1966 to 2006. In the early 1980s, the brand changed from Datsun to Nissan in line with other models by the company. Although production of the Sunny in Japan ended in 2006, the n ...
painted with pinstripe
Pinstripes are a pattern of very thin stripes of any color running in parallel. The pattern is often found in fashion.
The pinstripe is often compared to the similar chalk stripe. Pinstripes are very thin, often in width, and are created with ...
s in 1972. Rats chewed through the Datsun's cables,[ and the team switched to a ]Toyota Celica
The is an automobile produced by Toyota from 1970 until 2006. The Celica name derives from the Latin word '' coelica'' meaning 'heavenly' or 'celestial'. In Japan, the Celica was exclusive to the ''Toyota Corolla Store'' dealer chain.
Produce ...
in 1982.[ The White Sox introduced a bullpen car built off of a ]Chrysler LeBaron
The Chrysler LeBaron, also known as the Imperial LeBaron, is a line of automobiles built by Chrysler from 1931-1941 and from 1955-1995. The model was introduced in 1931, with a body manufactured by LeBaron Incorporated, LeBaron, and competed wit ...
in 1981,[ but it was also unpopular with pitchers, who refused to ride in it, and fans, who threw garbage at it.][
The ]Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
began using a version designed to look like a tugboat
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
in 1982, called the ''M.S. Relief''. On Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...
of the 1982 season, the Mariners' Bill Caudill
William Holland Caudill (born July 13, 1956) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Caudill was one of the top closers in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to .
Early years
Caudill attended Aviation High School in Redondo Beach, C ...
hid the keys to the bullpen car, causing a delay in the start of the game. Caudill organized a boycott of the tugboat, saying that it "should be fined as an embarrassment to the team". No Mariners player ever rode in the tugboat, and it was removed from use less than a week later.[ A bullpen car appeared in the 1989 baseball movie '' Major League''.][ Pitchers disliked the bullpen cars, leading to them being phased out. The last MLB team to use a bullpen car prior to its reintroduction in 2018 was Milwaukee, which phased out their motorcycle (which was also produced by Harley-Davidson) in 1995.][
The bullpen car remains in use in Japanese baseball. Most of them are convertibles so that fans can see the players inside, including many one-offs provided to the teams by the manufacturer. In the 1980s, the ]Yokohama DeNA BayStars
The are a professional baseball team in the Japan, Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its c ...
of Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
introduced a bullpen car, a one-off Datsun Bluebird (910) convertible. It was the first of a few bullpen cars provided by Nissan to their hometown team. It would be followed by a Be-1
Blue Origin, LLC is an American private spaceflight, privately funded aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company headquartered in Kent, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, the founder and executive chairman of Am ...
and S-Cargo in the 90s. In 2017, the BayStars began using the Nissan Leaf
The , stylized as LEAF, is a Compact car, compact five-door hatchback battery electric vehicle, battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufactured by Nissan. It was introduced in Japan and the United States in December 2010, and its second generation w ...
, while Yasuaki Yamasaki
is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Career
Yamasaki was drafted with the first pick by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in 2014 Nippon Professional Baseball draft. He has ...
used a Toyota MR-S
The Toyota MR2 is a line of two-seat, MR layout, mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports cars manufactured in Japan and marketed globally by Toyota from 1984 until 2007 over three generations: W10 (1984–1989), W20 (1989–1999) and W30 (2000–20 ...
to enter games. The Tokyo Yakult Swallows also use a custom Nissan, a one-off Y34 Cedric roadster. The Hanshin Tigers
The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railway ...
currently use a modified smart fortwo convertible.
The Sugar Land Skeeters
The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metr ...
of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...
, an independent baseball league
An independent baseball league is a professional baseball organization in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball and is outside the Minor League Baseball clubs affiliated to it.
The Northern League and Frontie ...
, introduced a bullpen car in 2012.
With an increasing focus on speeding up the pace of play
Pace of play is an issue concerning college baseball and professional baseball regarding the length of games.
Background
Game length in Major League Baseball (MLB) has increased over time, with the 1988 New York Yankees season, 1988 New York Yank ...
of MLB games, MLB had a committee discuss bringing back the bullpen car in 2015. The Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...
announced they would introduce their first bullpen car prior to the 2018 season. While the car was available on Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...
, March 29, 2018, the first reliever to make use of it was Collin McHugh
Collin Alexander McHugh (born June 19, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays. List ...
on May 5, 2018, for a sixth-inning relief role in the Diamondbacks' 18th home game of the season. The Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
were the second team to introduce a bullpen car, on April 13, 2018, and the Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...
became the third team to introduce one, on August 17, 2018. A bullpen car designed to look like a baseball glove
A baseball glove or mitt is a large glove (traditionally made of leather, today other options do exist) worn by baseball players of
the defending team, which assists players in catching and fielding balls hit by a batter or thrown by a teammate ...
was used during the 2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
.
References
External links
* {{commons category-inline, Bullpen carts
Baseball terminology
Carts