Obscure (and not a playoff game, as college doesn’t have it, but it did decide a league title): Diamond Ferri, normally a linebacker, was pressed into RB duties in a season ending game for Syracuse vs Boston College.
He ran for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had an interception return for a touchdown and 4 solo tackles. The upset victory he led his team to kept BC out of a BCS bowl, which they had never appeared in up to that point (and still haven’t, I think).
This doesn’t exactly fit the OP but there was Sven Nater. He spent his college career in the position of warming the bench as the backup to Bill Walton at UCLA. He was really good at it. He never started a game. In those days UCLA basketball had some of the warmest benches in all of sports.
Nevertheless, he had a decent professional career as a center.
Not bad for a college designated bench warmer to go on to a successful pro career.
Probably not. Before the rise of the modern relief pitcher, each team had a “mop-up man” – their worst pitcher, who would be brought into the game when all was lost. There wasn’t any reason to use a position player.
Later, teams managed their relief staff so someone was always available. It’s not a problem with blowouts (you just leave the pitcher in and rest your others), but becomes an issue with extra inning games. Still, there is usually a pitcher available (The 1986 Mets had Randy Niemann in reserve the entire postseason; he would have pitched in the 6th game if the Mets had just tied it instead of scoring the winning run).
Also, you have starters available – with so much at stake, no one is going to hold back (one of the criticisms of Walter Alston’s handling of the final game of the 1962 season – a three-game playoff with the Giants – is that he stuck with some bad relievers even though Don Drysdale offered to warm up in the ninth as the game was getting away from them). Most World Series rotations have only three starters, so you have one or two of them available
But if you consider starters and relievers to be different, that does bring to mind Grover Cleveland Alexander, who came in to pitch with the bases loaded in the 1926 World Series as a reliever after having pitched a complete game victory over the Yankees the day before. Old Pete gave up a very long foul ball – nearly a home run – to Tony Lazzeri, but then struck him out and only gave up a single walk in the last three innings (legend had it he was hungover from celebrating the night before, but Alexander also suffered from epilepsy, which was often mistaken for drunkenness).
The walk came with two out in the ninth, putting Babe Ruth aboard. However, Ruth attempted to steal second and was thrown out. When questioned about why he ran, Ruth said, “I wasn’t doing anyone any fucking good on first base.”
Pedro Martinez did a similar relief appearance in 1999 ALDS against the Indians. Came in in the third and pitched 6 no-hit innings for the win.
Wasn’t it Swen, not Sven?
Matt Cassel has had a semi-decent NFL QB career, despite never taking a meaningful snap at USC backing up Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart.
By that standard, Randy Johnson pitched very well in relief for the Diamondbacks against the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series back in 2001.
Hey, here’s a good one.
Lester Patrick, coach of the New York Rangers, fills in for injured goalie and wins game.
No, it has never happened. The stretched-out post-season schedule makes it less imperative to rest your bullpen.
Since the advent of the DH, American League DH’s regularly have to play positions in the World Series that they seldom play during the year. David Ortiz is only the most recent example, having played three games at first base, a position at which he averages about five games per year. [Before regular-season interleague play he probably wouldn’t even have played those five.]