Matt Stairs ties MLB record with 20th career pinch-hit homer

Matt Stairs homered off the bench last night, delivering the 20th pinch-hit homer of his career to tie Cliff Johnson for the all-time record. In general most players tend to underperform their usual production when pinch-hitting, but Stairs has had amazing success off the bench throughout his career. He’s hit .262 with a .369 on-base percentage and .501 slugging percentage in 412 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter, topping his OPS as a starter by 45 points. By comparison Lenny Harris holds the all-time hits record for pinch-hitters with 212 but was actually pretty awful off the bench, batting .264 with a .317 on-base percentage and .337 slugging percentage in 883 plate appearances.