Major League Baseball will implement a game changing rule this season that requires the starting pitcher, or any substitute pitcher, to pitch to a minimum of three batters. The rule is officially named: Three Batter Minimum, OBR 5.10(g), 5.10(i) and 5.10(m). Since first hearing rumors of this rule the baseball world has speculated how it […]
5.10 Substitutions and Pitching Changes (Including Visits to the Mound) (a) A player, or players, may be substituted during a game at any time the ball is dead. A substitute player shall bat in the replaced player’s position in the team’s batting order. (b) The manager shall immediately notify the umpire-in-chief of any substitution and […]
In 1948, Kansas City outfielder Leon Culberson ran to second when a pitch missed the catchers mitt and got lodged in home plate umpire Harry King’s mask. Ultimately the umpires got together and ruled that the ball was still in play and Culberson was credited with a stolen base. So what would happen if Culberson […]
As the fallout from the Houston Astro’s cheating scandal continues, one can wonder what effect, if any, will this have on amateur baseball at the high school level. This spring all over the country teams will take the field aiming for the same goal, to win a state championship. Part of what makes high school […]
NCAA Baseball Requires Pitch Clock in 2020 It is hard to determine the direction of the flow but the exchange of information, game trends, scouting and even hiring choices has been connecting NCAA baseball and MLB for decades. Top college coaches have used drills, analytics and metric driven game strategy in advance of many major […]
Umpires are allowed to call “Time” under many conditions. But when should an umpire be prohibited from calling “Time?” The top of the ninth inning of the Yankees-Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium on Saturday turned into one of the most bizarre half innings of the season as multiple rules surfaced on the same play. When […]
It was a steamy July day in New York and George Brett was on fire. He had just stroked a Goose Gossage four-seamer into the Yankee Stadium bleachers for a dramatic two out, ninth inning, home run that put the Royals up 5-4. The Yankees manager, Billy Martin, decided to protest the home run based […]
With last month’s Cubs-Nationals game ending in a protest from Joe Maddon, the topic of protesting in baseball came back to life. Although it is rare, with protests only being upheld 15 times in Major League Baseball history, it allows teams an avenue to enforce the Official Rules of Baseball at times when the umpires […]
The ninth inning of the May 18 game between the Washington Nationals and the visiting Chicago Cubs began like any other late-inning, three-run game. Nationals closer Sean Doolittle toed the slab in a save situation and retired Albert Almora Jr. for the first out. The next pitch is where the controversy officially became a game […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 22, 2019 MLB ANNOUNCES FORMAT OF PITCH TIMER DURING SPRING TRAINING Major League Baseball (MLB) today announced the format of a pitch timer that will be used during 2019 Spring Training games. No decision has been made on whether the timer will be used in regular season games. A 20-second pitch […]