Unless you were at Dodger Stadium for Monday night’s marathon four-hour and six-minute-long slugfest against the National League West last-place Colorado Rockies, you probably missed it. In fact, even many who were there missed it.

Several times during that historic game in which 21-year-old Dodgers rookie second baseman Gavin Lux made his major league debut and made Dodgers history for being the first Dodgers rookie to score three times in his MLB debut in the Live-ball era (since 1920), 30-year-old Dodgers left-handed reliever Adam Kolarek actually warmed up four times during that nine-inning contest – including with one out in the bottom of the ninth of the (then) 16-6 game.

He never entered the game.

“I think it’s just kind of part of the job description, it’s something that, even in college I was mainly a reliever, so, I don’t think anybody would say they – a hundred percent – want that every time, ” said the sidearm-slinging almost submariner lefty. “Obviously, you would want just a normal ‘Hey you got the next inning’ and you have a half-inning to get ready, but that’s not what this job entails.”

I have to admit that in my many (many) years as a Dodgers – and baseball – fan, I had never before seen this before, especially in a time when pitch counts are scrutinized right down to the very pitch – including warm-up tosses.

So how many pitches does it normally take the extremely polite Baltimore, MD native and 11th-round draft pick by the New York Mets in 2010 out of the University of Maryland whom the Dodgers acquired at the July 31, 2019 trade deadline from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for highly-touted minor league outfielder Nico Hulsizer to get game-ready? Kolarek’s answer might surprise you.

“I’ve talked to a lot of guys throughout my whole career to try to learn what they do,” Kolarek said. “I remember when I was first called up with Tampa [Bay], Tommy Hunter was in the bullpen and I was super anxious my first appearance and I threw a lot of pitches even kind of unconsciously. And then the next day, Tommy was like ‘How many pitches do you think you threw last night warming up?’ and I was like ‘Twelve?’ And he goes ‘No, you threw 23, and then you go out on the mound and throw another eight, so now you’re at 31 pitches before you make your first pitch.’

“So guys like that have really helped me as far as learn what I need, always keeping in mind that you have eight more once you get there,” he continued. “So for me, I try even before getting the [bullpen] catcher down, I’ll have him stand up and really those first couple throws are to just get my arm hot is really kind of all I need. And then once you get him down, just a couple sinkers to kind of just have the intensity of throwing down the mound.

“But for me, it’s kind of just trying to pace it best I can. If I can get in five or six, because the other thing too when things really happen fast, those are the times where the manager will tell the catcher ‘Hey go out there and stall a little bit,’” said Kolarek. “So you can buy time for me or for any reliever, which obviously comes in handy.

“And it’s different too now in the National League, a lot more pinch-hitting (no designated hitter), so for me it’s also another way I have to pay attention the whole game, where the spots are in the order. So it just adds another aspect. I think kind of once around the third, fourth inning, I’ll start stretching just to kind of be ready, so I’m not just cold sitting down [and then] on the mound trying to get hot,” he concluded.

As noted, the fourth time that Kolarek got up to warm up on Monday night was with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning after Dodgers right-hander Kenley Jansen allowed back-to-back one-out solo home runs to Rockies second baseman Ryan McMahon and position-player-pitcher Ian Desmond, followed by a double by Rockies right fielder Charlie Blackmon, thereby turning a ridiculously comfortable 16-7 football-ish score into a slightly less comfortable 16-9 football-ish score. Fortunately, the troubled Dodgers closer (for now, at least) then struck out shortstop Pat Valaika and got first baseman Daniel Murphy to fly out to center to end the game. As such, Kolarek’s invisible work was finished for the night, technically without having made even one pitch.

“It was quite a few [warm up pitches], but like I said, when you have the mentality expecting it to be ok with the ups and downs of it, you kind of learn to only get to about that 75 percent (while warming in the bullpen), because I don’t want to throw it out, but then also, like last night (Monday), I don’t get in but I still want to be available for today (Tuesday),” said Kolarek.

Funny he should mention that.

Kolarek did, in fact, get into Tuesday’s game in relief of Dodgers right-hander Yimi Garcia, who himself had relieved starter Julio Urias, who was on a very strict pitch count of 45 pitches (he made 44). Kolarek relieved Garcia with two outs in the top of the fourth inning and promptly struck out Rockies catcher Tony Wolters on six pitches, but who’s counting, right? The Dodgers would go on to win that one by a score of 5-3, with fellow left-hander Caleb Ferguson getting the win.

But wait… There’s more!

Kolarek also made it into Wednesday’s game in relief of Dodgers left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu with one out in the fourth inning and made (wait for it…) a grand total of six pitches … and got the win in the eventual 7-3 Dodgers victory. It was his second win (thus far) as a Dodger.

It would be criminal not mention that in the 15 games in which Kolarek has appeared since joining the Dodgers at the July 31 trade deadline, he has yet to allow a run – earned or otherwise – in his eight innings pitched thus far. He has also struck out five while walking only two. In fact, only he and popular Dodgers catcher / position-player-pitcher Russell Martin can boast about having perfect 0.00 ERAs. The difference, of course, is that whenever Russell Martin takes the mound as the Dodgers pitcher, he is extremely visible; whereas whenever Adam Kolarek enters a game, he is – and is perfectly content with being – the Dodgers Invisible Man.

Play Ball!

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