If a player breaks a record and no one knows about it, did it happen?
Jamie Hoffmann set a new Pacific Coast League record Sunday night at New Orleans, only no one was aware of it until Thursday.
"I had no clue it was even going on, to tell you the truth," Hoffmann said. "Russ (Mitchell) made the announcement in the lockerroom (Thursday), trying to rip on me. Everyone got a little chuckle out of it."
The announcement pertained to the record for consecutive errorless games by a PCL outfielder. It had been set during the 1957, 1958 and 1959 seasons by Alfred Heist, who played for the Sacramento Solons.
Heist had a stretch of 161 games without an error, which Hoffmann has now blown past, standing at 166 and counting going into Friday's 7:05 p.m. game against Tacoma.
The Solons played off and on in the PCL as far back as 1903. Their longest stretch in the league was from 1918 to 1960 before they became the Hawaii Islanders, who are now the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.
PCL researcher Chris Kutz dug up the record and noted Hoffmann's accomplishment.
“I take pride in defense," Hoffmann said. "It’s a lot of luck, too, because I’ve made a lot of not-very-good plays out there in the field. Guys have backed me up. I thank the team as well."
Manager Lorenzo Bundy heard about the record but said he did not want to jinx Hoffmann prior to Thursday's 12-4 loss to Tacoma, in which Hoffmann played left field and made a nice throw to gun down Ralph Henriquez at home plate in the seventh inning.
"It shows how consistent he’s been in this league as a defensive player," Bundy said. "He’s played all of them, center, left and right. That kind of adds to it, just because he hasn’t been in the same spot the whole time.
"Plus he’s been running up and down that hill at times. It’s a great accomplishment on his part. He deserves to be commended for it."
Around the Lab
- The Seattle Mariners' call-up of former Isotopes outfielder Trayvon Robinson became official Friday. Bundy said everyone in the Isotopes' clubhouse was happy to see the good fortune bestowed upon a player who was still with Albuquerque as recently as Sunday afternoon and played with Tacoma against the Isotopes on Wednesday. “Obviously the news of him (going up), we were excited for him," Bundy said. "It (isn't) like he’s been away from us for a long time where we’ve distanced ourselves away from him. We wish him well. It looks like he’s going to Anaheim, it’s right in his backyard." Robinson and the Mariners will square off with the Angels at 8 p.m.
- New Isotopes catcher Tim Federowicz turned 24 on Friday. He will celebrate by starting behind the plate and batting eighth.
- In a break from the third person, my condolences to Isotopes radio broadcaster Robert Portnoy, who will be away from the team this weekend after a death in the family.
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