# Baseball question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2002, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327 "2002-07-10T23:51:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2002, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/1 "2002-07-10T23:51:05Z")
What does it mean, “used up all their players”? ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/2 "2002-07-11T00:16:14Z")
If you take a player out of the game to substitute him with another player, the player that was taken out can’t come back into the game. So, b/c they used too many substitutions, they “used up all their players”. **BobT** will be along soon with the Cite from the MLB rules page. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Gaughan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ec9cab/32.png) [@Bob\_Gaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Gaughan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/3 "2002-07-11T00:25:52Z")
From MLB rules- 3.03 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. A player once removed from a game shall not re enter that game. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/4 "2002-07-11T01:55:34Z")
No, I said Bob **T** , not Bob **G** , dammit! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/5 "2002-07-11T02:10:31Z")
In the old days, pitchers in the All-Star game generally pitched until they came to bat and the rest often played at least half and sometimes the whole game. There were always players selected to the team that didn’t play. Particularly pitchers, kept in reserve against the possibility of extra innings. Now the managers feel that they have to let every chosen player get in the game, at least as a pinch-hitter. There is also a rule that no pitcher may pitch more than 3 innings. The result was that at the end of 11 innings there were no more pitchers left and they were more or less forced to call it. Couldn’t they have decided beforehand that the game would be limited to 11 innings? It is not as though extra inning games are so rare. Once again, Bud light comes out looking like an ass. But then again… I had a choice of watching the Fox feed with English commentary or ESPN with French. The former hardly showed the game, preferring to show talking heads and ignoring the game. So I watched with French commentary. I do not understand what is going on with sporting events these days. Would people really rather watch Torre have a friendly discussion with Brenley to watching the game? After all, it is possible to show the game and carry the discussion. I didn’t watch one minute of the last summer olympics on account of that and the only winter olympics I saw was the Canadian curling feed. Sports are supposed to be so popular, but they’d rather show interviews. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/6 "2002-07-11T05:19:24Z")
Let’s say that Bud didn’t halt the game. Doesn’t that mean that a non-pitcher would have been forced to pitch? Boy, that would have been fun to watch. I guess the next natural question is: who would they have picked to pitch? Surely one or more of the fielders has had pitching experience back in college, HS or Little League. Yes? ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/7 "2002-07-11T05:30:15Z")
Yeah, and then you have the possibility of duplicating the situation with Jose Canseco, when he took over pitching duties in a game that was too far gone to care about, and injured his shoulder. Can you imagine the outcry if a player got hurt like that and then had to be on the D.L. for his real team later? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/8 "2002-07-11T06:52:09Z")
The thing about the All-Star game is that it’s an exhibition game and you don’t have to apply all the rules in the rulebook. The All Star Game already had a rule where the starting catcher could re-enter the game if the last catcher got hurt. And pitchers are limited to 3 innings except in extra inning games. If this had been a game for keeps “a championship game” in the official parlance, the teams would have stayed out there until they dropped. If one team, because of injuries and substitutions, couldn’t field nine players, then they would forfeit. However, there’s no real point in forfeiting an exhibition game. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/9 "2002-07-11T10:37:51Z")
I think it is technically possible, even in a regular game, to have position players come back into the game, if the opposing manager agrees. That wasn’t the problem, it really was the lack of available pitchers. From what I heard, the final NL pitcher (Padilla) had trouble staying loose and the manager didn’t have a replacement. At least, that’s what Selig said on [ESPN.com](http://ESPN.com) You can’t bring in a position player to pitch, because of the aforementioned Canseco syndrome. You can’t bring in a pitcher to pitch because once they pitch in a game, you shouldn’t put them back out there, too much chance for injury. If the Padilla thing is true, I very much understand Selig’s decision. He “promised” to make a change for next year so the managers feel free to keep some players and pitchers in reserve for [foghorn leghorn] “just such an emergency.” [/foghorn leghorn] ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/10 "2002-07-11T12:19:50Z")
Bullpuckies. You can bring in a position player all you want - one doofus Canseco shouldn’t ruin it for everyone. After all, at that point in the game people just want to see a conclusion, not some superhuman feat of hurlitude, like Canseco was attempting. Also, it was Padilla’s turn in the rotation, and he should have been able to go longer (though there is a rule, I believe) about any pitcher going more than 3 innings). Remember, Bud’s kind of an idiot - and thinks the rest of us are, too - so you can’t assume he’s telling the truth every time. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/11 "2002-07-11T14:04:57Z")
In regular season games, it is always a possibility that a position player may be called upon to pitch if the team runs out of pitchers. I believe the famous shortstop Dave Concepcion was put in a position of at the very least having to warm up in the Cincinnati bullpen when it looked as if a game might go on longer and the Reds’ (at the time) hopeless pitching staff had been used up. I think Bud’s decision was a supreme act of disrepect for the fans watching the game whether in person or on television. If a game isn’t worth playing until someone wins then it’s not worth playing at all. MLB should be forced to refund all moneys paid for tickets and for television coverage. ---
**Author:** ![mazzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@mazzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazzer)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/12 "2002-07-11T15:36:04Z")
BUT if a position player comes in to pitch, the pitcher must leave the game, and then you only have eight players. Now you must break another rule by having someone else come back into the game. Bud did the only elegant thing in the situation HE was presented (that he had no control over). ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/13 "2002-07-11T15:43:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by chriszarate \* > \*\*BUT if a position player comes in to pitch, the pitcher must leave the game, and then you only have eight players. \*\* Not true. You could (I wouldn’t recommend it) send your pitcher to left field and bring in your left fielder to pitch. The only time that a pitcher must come out of the game is when a manager makes a second trip to the mound in the same inning. (Rule 8.06(b)). Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![mazzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@mazzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazzer)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/14 "2002-07-11T15:50:47Z")
I sit corrected. Still, as Zev suggested, if they were worried about Garcia and Padilla they wouldn’t send them out to play a position they’re not used to. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/15 "2002-07-11T17:08:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by acsenray \* > \*\* > If a game isn’t worth playing until someone wins then it’s not worth playing at all. \*\* That’s the whole point. The All-Star game ISN’T worth playing at all. If it was a regulation game it would be a different story. You can’t risk the health and safety of a pitcher (or other player) that doesn’t belong to you on a game that is essentially a parlor trick. Everyone already got 2 more innings than they paid for, so they came out ahead, value-wise. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/16 "2002-07-11T17:23:11Z")
> [@](#): > > That’s the whole point. The All-Star game ISN’T worth playing at all. If it was a regulation game it would be a different story. You can’t risk the health and safety of a pitcher (or other player) that doesn’t belong to you on a game that is essentially a parlor trick. Everyone already got 2 more innings than they paid for, so they came out ahead, value-wise. I’m afraid I can’t agree. If they can risk the health and safety of a pitcher in dozens of regular season games throughout the summer, then they can do so for a few innings in this one game as well. If they can’t be bothered to put forth their full effort, then they shouldn’t charge money for attendance and broadcast rights. If it’s just for fun, it should be for free. If we’re paying, then we deserve an honest effort. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/17 "2002-07-11T17:40:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by acsenray \* > \*\*In regular season games, it is always a possibility that a position player may be called upon to pitch if the team runs out of pitchers. \*\* In blowouts, sometimes the losing team will put in a position player to pitch just to conserve the pitchers, even if some might be available. I recall seeing a Yankee game about 1986 or so where they were losing by 18-2 or thereabouts. Rick Cerone, the catcher, pitched the last inning or two. It was hilarious, because Cerone kept shaking off the signals on what to pitch from his catcher. Cerone was laughing his butt off. He retired the side, too. IIRC, Wade Boggs also pitched a few times in similar circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/18 "2002-07-11T21:50:37Z")
There’s a long tradition (baseball and football, for sure) of charging for attendance at meaningless pre-season exhibition games. Fans know going in that _winning the contest_ is not the primary aim of either team, and can make their decision to attend or not accordingly. I don’t see why the All-Star Game (a meaningless mid-season exhibition game) should be regarded any differently. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/118327/19 "2002-07-12T00:20:23Z")
Does there remain a General Question on the table here?