Dietz and what’s done

Dick Dietz, a former All-Star catcher with the San Francisco Giants, best known for failing to get out of the way of a Don Drysdale pitch, got in the way again, this time of the Grim Reaper’s scythe, at the age of 63. As Drysdale was compiling his then-record string of 58 1/3 shutout innings, he faced the Giants on May 31, 1968. With the bases loaded and none out in the 9th, Drysdale hit Dietz with a pitch, which would have driven in a run and ended the streak, but the home plate umpire immediately determined that Dietz had not made an effort to get out of the way of the pitch and was not entitled to the base. Drysdale got out of the jam and completed the shutout.