I’m watching the Dodgers game right now and the pitcher gets hit in the groin area by a ball from the batter. I know baseball is not really timed, but how long do they get to stop game time? They let him wait for a bit, then even throw a couple of pitches to see if he’s ok.
Other games I’ve watched had the manager come out and have a conversation with the pitcher for who knows how long. How many of these time outs do you get in MLB and how long can each one last?
The time out lasts as long as the umpire lets it. And there is no limit on the number of them with one exception. If the manager, coach, or player from the dugout comes out to talk to the pitcher for the second time in one inning (and neither is an injury situation), the pitcher must be removed from the game. Furthermore since a pitcher must pitch to at least one batter (or until the side is retired), the manager cannot make a second visit to the pitcher during the first batter he faces. The talk the manager has with the new pitcher when he arrives on the mound counts against the old pitcher and not the new pitcher in this determination.
As mentioned, with one exception, it’s completely up to the umpire. If you look closely, you’ll notice no players really call ‘time out’ like basketball or football; the players look at an umpire and ask for time out, and the play is still live until the umpire that actually calls time. For instance, a player who just slid into second will wait until the umpire actually signals time out before letting go of the base to stand up and dust off. It’s nearly unheard of for an umpire not to grant a time out, but sometimes an umpire will tell a player (usually it’s when a catcher and pitcher are talking), that the time out has gone on long enough and they should finish up and get back to the game.
Thanks guys. I have another baseball question!
Do all the pitchers get a win when their team wins, or do you have to pitch a certain amount, or not let a certain number of runs be scored on you?
A pitcher gets a win if he leaves the game with the lead, and the lead is not relinquished. If the pitcher is the starting pitcher, he also has to have pitched at least 5 complete innings.
Example A: Pitcher pitches five innings, gives up ten runs, leaves with an 11-10 lead. Bullpen doesn’t allow another run. That pitcher gets a W.
Example B: Pitcher pitches seven innings, gives up zero runs, leaves with a 5-0 lead. Bullpen allows 6 runs to score and team loses 6-5; pitcher doesn’t get a win.
Example C: As above, but the team scores 2 in the bottom of the 9th to pull out a win. Starting pitcher doesn’t get a win; the win goes to whichever relief pitcher was last in the game.
Example D: As in B, but the bullpen gives up 4 in the 8th, then the team scores another 3 (for an 8-4 lead), then the bullpen gives up another 3 in the 9th (for an 8-7 lead and the win). Starting pitcher gets the win because the lead was never relinquished.
Example E: Pitcher pitches four innings, leaves with an injury and a 5-0 lead; bullpen holds the lead. The win goes to whichever bullpen pitcher the official scorer decides had the most effective outing. Sometimes, like in 14-12 games, this can be to someone who didn’t pitch very well.
Couple more questions:
Pitchers get hit by balls all the time, but has a runner ever gotten hit by a line drive? Is he out if that happens?
How many times can a pitcher throw to a base to try and pick off a runner? What’s the longest that a pitcher’s done this?
If a runner is inside the foul lines and is hit by a batted ball he is out. In my (much younger) playing days we were instructed to stand in foul territory when leading off at third. If a batted ball hit us (whether the ball was fair or foul) we wouldn’t be called out.
A pitcher may attempt to pick off a base runner out as many times as he likes. Sometimes teams will use this tactic to give a pitcher in the bullpen more time to warm up.
what about a batter who is standing on the base? I realize they almost always have a lead, but if a runner was standing on first when a batted ball hits him, is he still out? Doesn’t seem like that would be fair.
I’m pretty sure this is correct, but don’t have time to look it up right now. Touching a base does provide safety from being out when hit by a batted bat in softball. It does not in baseball unless the hit is an infield fly as declared by the umpire (a ball easily caught by an infielder when there are less than two outs and first and second base or all bases are occupied).
Another exception is that a runner is never out if the batted ball has passed an infielder (not the pitcher) and another infielder has no chance at it. So if the infield were playing in to try to get a runner on third out at the plate and a runner were standing on second base (why I don’t know) and were hit by the ball after it passed the shortstop, he’d not be out.
the runner being out, is, of course, because deflecting the ball when it hits you is an unfair advantage. One situation not discussed is, of course, what if the batter/runner while running the bases is struck by the ball he struck? Yes, he, too, is out.
A runner also may not deliberately reach out to touch a thrown ball. If it strikes him with no intent on his part, the ball simply remains in play.
Just because nobody seems to have mentioned it yet…
It is not at all unusual for an umpire to give a player (usually a catcher, but sometimes the batter) who has been hit by a ball extra time to recover by pulling out his duster and slowly and deliberately dusting off the home plate area. Catchers often return the favor when an umpire has bee hit by a ball by walking to the mound to “discuss” something with their pitcher.