Cubs' Anthony Rizzo Became First Lefty In Big League To Play 3rd Base Since 1997

(CBS) After Kris Bryant was hit by a pitch and left for precautionary reasons in the top of the ninth inning of the Cubs' eventual 13-9 win against the Reds on Tuesday night, manager Joe Maddon had a couple choices left to fill his vacancy at third base.

It just wasn't with the usual suspects. He either had to call on catcher Alex Avila or first baseman Anthony Rizzo to shift to third base.

"Looking at it, the only thing left was Avila at third, which is no fun, or Rizzo at third and Avila at first, which is fun," Maddon told reporters afterward.

"And that's why we did it."

By doing so, Rizzo became the first lefty-throwing player to man third base in the big leagues since 1997, when Mario Valdez of the White Sox did so, according to the Associated Press. Rizzo didn't have any balls hit to him and manned the position as the Cubs entered the inning with a seven-run lead.

Rizzo is technically the first lefty-throwing player to play third base in "Cubs" history. George Decker and Jimmy Ryan also played there in the late 1800s when the Cubs were nicknamed the White Stockings.

Bryant wasn't aware right away that Rizzo had filled in for him, but he had a feeling that his good friend would let everyone know about it.

"He'll put that on his Twitter bio: third baseman," Bryant said.