Question for the baseball guys
 

I saw a thread on the baseball forum about a batter changing batting boxes during an at-bat and, as I thought, it's not illegal (as long as the pitcher is not ready to pitch), but one of the posters mentioned that a pitcher cannot change his pitching arm during an at-bat (NF rules). If this is correct, can you explain the reasoning behind it? If a batter can switch, why not the pitcher. That doesn't seem equitable to me. Thanks.

And no - before someone thinks of it, by the term "change his pitching arm" I don't mean he can replace one with a new one if it wears out. ;)

I have no idea. This is the rule pretty much across the board. All I can do is assume that they want the offense to not adjust on the fly to a pitcher. Other than that I am simply guessing.

Peace

The batter can change sides of the plate once per at bat, there are other rules that must be followed, like not changing sides while the pitch is being delivered.

Really? They seemed to indicate there was no restriction as to the number of times the batter could change sides. Do you have a rule reference? Thanks.

Actually he can change sides while the pitch is being delivered, accept he will be automatically out for stepping across the plate. There is a rule about the batter switching but it's more to not make a mockery of the game. I think that's right, you can only do it once, but I know you also can't do it after 2 strikes either.

Far as I know there is no restriction on the pitcher, but you have to remember, common sense. If the pitcher switches to the other arm, then he/she won't be able to play defense very well because the glove on the wrong hand. Not very smart when you're that close to the batters and you can't play defense or acturately defend yourself. I would think the baseball forum would be able to answer this to the T.

Really!!! Because the examples they gave of it being used the most is that a batter tries to bunt from the left side to gain an advantage going to first base but after getting two strikes, moves to the right side.

I'll bet you a used Fox 40 rubber mouthguard you can't cite a rule reference to back up your statement.

You should stick to not knowing the basketball rules.

A batter can change after every pitch, if desired, even with 2 strikes. However, if a pitcher is in his delivery or is engaged with the rubber ready to deliver, the batter is declared out if he steps across to change batter's boxes (OBR 6.06(b)).

The pitcher is limited because otherwise you could have the batter and pitcher in a never ending game of switching hands to get the advantage. The FED rule is 6-1-1 NOTE -- the pitcher must declare whether he is left or right handed and pitch to the batter with that hand for the entire at bat.

The batter can change on every single pitch if he wants, just not when the pitcher is delivering or is ready to deliver. The rule is 7-3-3.

LOL....it's true, it's true! :D

You would win that bet cause I'm not even going to try. However, you never see this. I'll never seen a batter switch position in the pro's, i have no clue for HS. I did softball, where it is more leniant, and as far as i can recall, you couldn't switch every pitch. That's making a mockery of the game.

Read the disclamier...

Is there a rule on whether a pitcher can change gloves mid-inning?

It's not. If a batter is trying to bunt, he may want the additional step to first batting LH gives him. With 2 strikes, he may want to avoid striking out by batting right. And he'd be well within his rights. I saw it once this summer and it's the only time I can remember it happening. And of COURSE, the other coach wanted me to stop it cause "it's against the rules." :rolleyes:

Read the disclamier...:D

Interesting...makes sense. Can't bunt in softball, issue never came up for me. I'm fairly certain that after you had 2 strikes, you couldn't switch, but you where allowed to switched once.

I believe there's also a rule that once a pitcher is announced, he must pitch to one batter. Otherwise, you could bring in a reliever, the opponent could bring in a pinch hitter, then you could switch pitchers, the opponent could bring another pinch hitter. . .

Am I right about that?

I see you finally learned how to spell "author", but you can't correctly spell "disclaimer", plus - your signature of "Views expressed here or the opinion of the author" makes no sense grammatically. :confused:

You got it reversed. One a batter is announced and the at-bat starts, he must bat, cannot be replaced in the at-bat unless injuried. But you can switch the pitcher as many times as you want, even in the middle of the count. However, in the pro's, once you replace the pitcher, he is out of the game permanently, unless you stick him into the field, but I don't believe he can come back and pitch again once replaced. In softball, once the pitcher returns to a position in the field, he can then come back and pitch again and you can do this as many times as you want.

I know this is the same for MLB and softball slow pitch. The manager only gets one trip to the mound an not replace the pitcher in the same inning. Two trips to the mound in any one inning by the manager or pitching coach, pitcher must be replaced.

If it makes no sense to you, perhaps you need to go back and take a refresher grammar class or understanding English because the statement could not be any clearer, minus the typo's of course. Damn keyboard....

Look Old Drool, I'll match my spelling and grammar skills against yours any day of the week. Not only does your signature, shown above in red, not make any sense grammatically ("or" should be "are"), but "typos" (plural) SHOULDN'T HAVE AN APOSTROPHE!!!

http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...mages/moon.gif

This is stunning it's so wrong. In every possible way.

A pitcher can return to the mound once per inning if he stays in the game by playing another position. If in the AL, this kills the DH, BTW.

A manager cannot make two trips to the same batter in MLB. If he does after being warned, the manager is ejected and the pitcher must finish the at bat and then HE'S ejected.

You can pinch hit as often as you like. It's not unusual for a pinch hitter to be announced, followed by a pitching change, followed by a pinch hitter for the guy who hasn't even come up to the plate. But that's where it stops, as a pitcher must pitch until he completes an at bat or the side is retired.

Seriously, he's GOTTA be putting us on.

Well, you can't in that abomination called "slow-pitch."

Hmmm, turning the 'b' over into a 'p'...is that a regional spelling? Or was it just a typo? Either way, it's the game that drove me out of umpiring altogether.

OS:

Now you are screwing up baseball rules.

Baseball rules (NFHS, NCAA, and OBR) state that the pitcher must use the same thrower arm for a given batter. The pitcher cannot change arms during the middle of at bat, but does not use the same arm for every batter. The rules further state that the batter may change batter's box before every pitch as long as he does not delay the game (meaning the pitcher has not started his pitching motion). As the rules are now written it is difficult for the batter to delay the game if he makes his change immediately after each pitch.

You used the word "mockery." The word you wanted to use was "travesty," which is the word used in the rules and it refers to running the bases in reverse order.

Please go to the baseball forum and read it closely. You may learn something.

MTD, Sr.

OS:

I really don't care about your opinion, I care about the rules being applied correctly. Something you have never cared to do.

MTD, Sr.

Okay, I knew it was going to be confusing after I wrote it. What I meant is, once the at-bat starts, that's batter in the batters box and pitcher set on the rubber to deliver pinch, and the umpire says play ball. That batter can now, not be changed. Before the pitcher gets on the rubber and the umpire says play ball, he/she can be pulled back for another pinch hitter (PH). So it is possible to be in the batters box and before the umpire says play ball, be replaced by another pinch hitter. However, once the umpire says play ball, he/she can no longer be replaced at bat. Also, this sh!t gets deep, once the pinch batter is replaced before ever batting, in other words PH for a PH. The original PH is now out the game, can not return, can not return to play defense. He/she was replaced.

Different story for the pitcher. The pitcher can be 2-0 into the count and be replaced. But the batter can't be replaced if the count is 2-0. That's what I tried to say but in far less words and I did not do it justice. So in fact, the question was in reverse. The pitcher can be replaced at any time thru-out the count, the batter can not, unless of course for injury.

I once had a female who was still in her breast feeding months, breast started flowing milk at the cry of a baby in the crowd that was not hers. By rule, I let her be replaced at the count we where at. It hard to say all of this, and all that applies in a few short words.

That is wrong, completely wrong. A pitcher can be replaced at any time. A batter cannot. I can be 3-2 full count and be replaced as the pitcher. I can be 1-0 or 0-2 into the count and be replaced as a pitcher. If I'm anywhere into the count as a batter, I must complete the at-bat.

"pitch"
"months"
"were"
"It's"

"Views expressed here or the opinion of the author." Still incorrect grammar in the signature line - "or" instead of "are".

And this is the guy who denigrates (Old Drool, you can look that up) my spelling and grammar.

Ho-hum. Life goes on as usual.

Oh for goodness sake, you are right, this is so screwed up. Damn keyboard. Don't quite know what you mean by the apostrophe but this is bad. Between my keyboard and horrible grammar, I don't stand a chance. I should just give up but I'm too stupid to do that.

Is this a feud between loving officials?

Seems pretty doubtful. I mean, we know Padgett's an official. But Old Stool, that seems pretty doubtful.

I cannot believe you guys are arguing baseball rules with someone that does not understand basketball rules. The rules have been given, leave it at that.

Peace

In a basketball forum. :confused:

Just to further make my case clearer. In the NL, the pitcher can bat. Once the pitcher receives a count 1-0 as the batter. He must complete the at-bat. He can not be replaced. However, the pitcher on the mound can be replaced anywhere in the count. If the count is 1-0, you can switch to another pitcher on the mound. The next pitcher comes in and throws 2 more balls for a count total of 3-0. That pitcher can be replaced with another pitcher on the mound. I have seen this in MLB. The in-between pitcher was used to get the guy the manager really wanted to use warm up.

We are not arguing, we are having a discussion on baseball rules. If you lighten up, you might learn something. I know I have. I also know i kind of miss umping baseball and talking about some of the different scenarios. It's kind of refreshing talking to someone who knows the rules and is also a basketball official. You need to get over yourself, the world is not about you. I see you didn't have anything negative to say about the thread I started on USA Men's FIBA Officiating that was hyjacked by constant insults to the French. Look at the Off-Topic Baseball thread, it's almost over a 1000 posts on the basketball forum, you got nothing negative to say about that either, but you can come out here and insult me because I'm talking about baseball.

Some peoples kids.....

Not true. A batter can be replaced *at any time*.

A pitcher can be replaced *at any time* after he has faced one batter (or the side has been retired). The "one batter" rule "starts over" after a visit, unless there is also a pinch hitter (okay -- that was confusingly worded).

The first substitution you mentioned (with a 1-0 count) is allowed. The second (with a 3-0 count) isn't, and, no, you haven't seen it in MLB (unless the umpires were really asleep).

Since this is a baseball rules question that was posed, I'd ask you not to respond further unless you are a current baseball umpire.

I mean, he's really GOTTA be putting us on.

I disagree, batter has to be injured after the count starts. I've never seen this in a game, but that don't mean it's not possible, I've just never seen it.

Yes I have, it happened in the playoff's a few years ago. Don't forget the injury rule, what happens if the pitcher got hurt.

I shouldn't have to be a baseball ump to have an opinion even though I umpired for many years. I am not saying I'm 100% correct but i am not 100% incorrect either.

OK, I got sucked into this. Let me make some introductions: Old School, ignore list. Ignore list, Old School.

A pitcher [starter or substitute] must pitch until the batting slot completes a time at bat or there are three outs [R3.05], unless the pitcher is injured, ill or ejected.
If a pitcher is replaced, but has not met the above requirements, the previous pitcher must re-enter the game to meet those requirements.

Disagreeing doesn't make you right, it makes you obstinate.

The question isn't asking for opinions ("what do you think the rule should be?"), it's asking for facts ("what is the rule?")

Continuing to not understand the difference is a violation of forum rules.

"Danger Will Robinson! Danger!"

So, because you haven't seen it happen, it's not allowed by rule. This may be the worst leap of logic I've ever seen.

Wait, I did read some stupid theory about food addictions once, but I can't remember where that was.

I think the guys on the baseball forum must be much more adept with the Ignore List than people over here.

I don't know quite what it is with this Old Stool guy, but he must be very popular these days -- he's on all the best ignore lists :D

I declared a truce in another thread, but since you stated you didn't understand my apostrophe comment, I'll explain - not in a mean spirited fashion, but just for clarification, OK?

There is a difference between plural and possessive when it comes to using apostrophes. If you notice, I just used a plural (apostrophes) without using an apostrophe. That's because it's plural, not possessive or a contraction, like the two words, "That's" and "it's" are in this sentence.

In general, you use apostrophes when the word ending in "s" is possessive (i.e.: "Bob's" wiener) or is a contraction (i.e.: "it's" really big, meaning it is really big) but not when the word is just plural, such as in "wieners".

When a word naturally ends in "s" and you want to make it possessive, you put the apostrophe after the "s", which is really kind of weird.

I hope all that is correct, since I don't use a disclaimer in my signature. :D Although part of my job in marketing is to write copy, I haven't been to an English class since I graduated college back before dirt was invented.

Bob:

Obstinate. I like that word, but with OS, stubborn as a mule would be a better and more charitable despcription.

MTD, Sr.

Mark:

I thought Bob had bought a ball park frank and a beer at the game? :D

MTD, Sr.

Thank you for the warning but if you notice, I am always in danger or under attack all the time. I've gotten use to it. It's like working DI games all the time. There are no breaks, you are always under the gun.

Bob, would it be possible to get a copy or link to the forum rules.

Thanks for the English lesson Mark. Now I remember, I was never any good at this subject. Now I remember why!

The D1 refs that I know don't feel in danger or under attack all the time. You must be talking about wreck ball. That's where the real danger lies.

For Pete's sake!!
 

You're right, Juulie. In fact, it's getting so bad, I'm thinking about carrying a gun to games. Oh wait - never mind. :p


BTW - Juulie, please check your email. Thanks.

I like the website....

And...you spelled all four words correctly!!!

Just yanking your chain. :D


http://www.stomptokyo.com/img-m5/goliath-cheer-d.jpg

I always pictured you with dark hair. :D

That's not me, it's my Uncle Lance. :D

Thanks for the correction and BRILLIANT! The only problem is many others quote him which causes his post to be visible whether you ignore him or not.
It makes the ignore list nearly useless.

This is true. Way too much of his foolishness gets quoted. But the more of us that banish Old Stool to the ignore list, the fewer quotes will slip into the conversation.

As a public service, I think the forum software should automatically add him to everybody's ignore list (but allow Jeff to opt out because he's the Iron Ignorer and doesn't need no stinking ignore list to ignore him).

You got it. :D

Peace

Though curiously enough, back in post 32 it seemed there was a little chink in your armor. I was shocked, shocked I tell you! :D

I think you are being mislead. There are many on this forum who you should probably ignore if you want to be for real about it. A wise man once said, be weary of those you choose to float in a boat with, for the boat may not be as stable as you think.

Thanks for reminding me about my very stable bass boat.
I haven't mown under it yet this year. :cool:

You keep your boat in a stable? Quit horsing around. The next thing you know, you'll have lady rams in your stable.

http://www.logosoftwear.com/embroide....43).16396.gif

Dude, you really need to get a new wise man. This guy is ripping you off.

His wise guy is right about the "weary" part. I'm definitely tired of this shipmate. :rolleyes:

How could you possibly know what it's (notice the correct use of the apostrophe) like to work a D-1 game?