Paul Janish is a defensive whiz and not much of a pitcher. He twice was ranked as the number one defensive player in the Reds organization, but his hitting is a bit less impressive. His pitching stats, however, have been horrible.
I love players like Janish. Back in my day, I was a big fan of Mick Kelleher (now a coach with the Yankees). Janish has a bit more power than Kelleher, but their resumes are similar otherwise, except for the pitching.
Janish has gotten into two games as a pitcher. He pitched two innings and has an ERA of 49.50. Granted, he is an infielder, but 49.50 is still extremely high. In fact, that is the highest ERA for any non-pitcher since John Mabry (another of my favorites) retired in 2007 with a 63.00 ERA. Pitching isn't what keeps Janish in the league though.
We caught up with Janish while in St. Louis a few weeks ago. He graciously gave us his time for a couple questions from JohngysBeat.com's Jim Gekas on travel and dining. We did not ask him about pitching!
