Red Sox pitcher had the greatest jury duty excuse of all time

At a certain point in life, every person is required to take part in jury duty.

On Tuesday, Josh Winckowski of the Boston Red Sox had to take his turn.

However, as candidates were being eliminated, he remained and was likely to be selected.

Finally, the Red Sox right-hander was asked if there was any reason he couldn't serve, and he gave the best possible excuse to get out of his assignment.

"I have to pitch in Clearwater Thursday," the right-hander told the jurors.

He was subsequently sent home before ultimately making his start on Thursday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Red Sox pitcher wiggles his way out of jury duty

This was ultimately the best possible response Winckowski could have given when asked if he would be able to serve.

Fortunately, it worked out for him, and he was able to not only be sent home, but also make his scheduled start against the Phillies.

Today's start ultimately didn't go well for him, as he allowed four runs, three of them earned over two innings of work. But for Winckowski, pitching certainly beats jury duty, no matter how difficult his outing was.

He just so happened to have the perfect excuse to get out of jury duty, and when he played his cards, he played them quite well.

The 25-year-old is currently fighting to secure a spot in the Red Sox Opening Day rotation. As a member of the bullpen last year, the young right-hander went 4-4 in 60 appearances with a 2.88 ERA. He also recorded 82 strikeouts and had a WHIP of 1.42.

Despite his rough start on Thursday against the Phillies, Winckowski owns a respectable 3.72 ERA this spring and still has a chance to secure a spot in Boston's rotation this upcoming season.

If he can win the rotation battle, he'll have an extra fun story to share about the spring after taking his turn on jury duty, and about how he was ultimately able to wiggle his way out of it when he was asked if there was any reason he would be unable to serve.

Winckowski certainly played the right cards, and everything worked out in the end. We'll see if he can now secure a rotation spot with the Red Sox. With Lucas Giolito out for the season, he has a perfect opportunity right in front of him.

At least he was honest about why he couldn't serve.