Baseball Rules: Visits to the Mound?

[Ulf_the_Unwashed]

To be fair, when the manager knows before he leaves the dugout that he’s going to remove the pitcher, he typically signals that intention on his way to the mound. In the minor league games I attend, the reliever is often trotting in from the bullpen before the manager gets where he’s going. The only real time sink, in this event, is the warmup pitches.

The problems arise when:

a) the manager’s not sure if he’s going to pull the pitcher;

b) the manager thinks the reliever could use some more warmup time and he’s trying to stall.

I agree with the basic perspective that mid-inning pitching changes are the pits.

[Barkis_is_Willin]

I think the manager could make the change without walking all the way to the mound. But they probably like to have a word with the guy coming in from the bullpen. In other sports, the head coach can speak directly to the guys coming in from the sideline.

[RealityChuck]

It really doesn’t make any time difference if the manager signaled and didn’t go to the mound. The relief pitcher has to come in from the bullpen and take his warm-up pitches. If the manager knows, he signals as he walks to the mound (usually by touching his arm). OTOH, if he’s not sure, he has to talk to the pitcher to get a feel for what to do.

[muldoonthief]

@Barkis_is_Willin

I think the manager could make the change without walking all the way to the mound. But they probably like to have a word with the guy coming in from the bullpen. In other sports, the head coach can speak directly to the guys coming in from the sideline.

If I read the rules linked above correctly, if the manager stays to talk to the reliever, that counts as his first visit to that pitcher. But if he’s only planning on leaving him in for a few batters anyway, it makes perfect sense to talk right then.

[RickJay]

@Fotheringay-Phipps

The problem with “tradition” in regards to this is that the game has evolved a lot over the years, and there are a lot more pitching changes per game than there used to be. So the delay in having the manager come out of the dugout each time is a much bigger time-waster than it traditionally was.

The delay is pretty minor. It takes longer for the relief pitcher to jog in from the bullpen than it does for the manager to walk out to the mound. As Ulf has already poi8nted out, in most cases the manager has already summoned a relief pitcher before he gets to the mound, and if he hasn’t, it’s because he actually needs to talk to the pitcher to decide whether or not to replace him.

In the grand scheme of Ways To Speed Up Major League Baseball, managers visiting pitching mounds to yank the pitcher are pretty far down the list of good ideas.

[Jinx]

@Saint_Cad

OP: It’s two and the pitcher is pulled on the second one. Also it doesn’t matter if it is the manager or pitching coach. In fact if the coach goes to a player and that player goes to the mound it is a visit. So your whole question is moot.

OK, when I had time to follow MLB more closely as a kid in the 1970s, I could swear there was no rule on the number of pitching coach’s visits to the mound. But, maybe I have forgotten. Of course, I could swear to a lot of things…

[tim-n-va]

@Jinx

OK, when I had time to follow MLB more closely as a kid in the 1970s, I could swear there was no rule on the number of pitching coach’s visits to the mound. But, maybe I have forgotten. Of course, I could swear to a lot of things…

I have a vague memory of one world series (maybe with Oakland) where the visit rule was waived and promptly abused.

[davduss1]

I’m surprised no one has mentioned that the current rule only took effect in the late 60’s or early 70’s. Before that a manager was only allowed to visit a pitcher once in a game. A second visit meant the pitcher was replaced. I believe the limit was per pitcher, so a reliever also was allowed one visit.

The new rule changed that to per inning instead of per game.. A return to old rule would speed up the game.

[Suburban_Plankton]

@Uncle_Jocko

Interesting note about that 18-foot circle … the umpires take that seriously.

There have been instances in the past where a coach or manager went out to talk to the pitcher for their first visit. After leaving the mound and the 18-foot circle, the manager realized they forgot something, stopped, and went back to the mound. Guess what? That’s now your second visit and you have to remove the pitcher.

It happened a few years ago in a Giants-Dodgers game.

[OldGuy]

@davduss1

I’m surprised no one has mentioned that the current rule only took effect in the late 60’s or early 70’s. Before that a manager was only allowed to visit a pitcher once in a game. A second visit meant the pitcher was replaced. I believe the limit was per pitcher, so a reliever also was allowed one visit.

The new rule changed that to per inning instead of per game.. A return to old rule would speed up the game.

I don’t know if that was the original rule. In fact I’d be quite surprised if there was an explicit rule about it originally. But that was the rule in the AL when I was young (say late 50s early 60s) while the NL had the current once per inning rule.

[BlankSlate]

@Suburban_Plankton

It happened a few years ago in a Giants-Dodgers game.

A rule is a rule, I guess, but Bochy is a dick.

[from_a_to_z]

@BlankSlate

A rule is a rule, I guess, but Bochy is a dick.

Before you look at the box score, here, which team do you think won the game?

[BlankSlate]

@from_a_to_z

Before you look at the box score, here, which team do you think won the game?

Still a dick. If Mattingly had stood still and answered Loney’s question, not a problem. It’s silly. Dick rule, dick move.

There are some things you can do but shouldn’t. Like A-Rod shouting “I got it” when running past a fielder tracking a pop-up. Playing within the rules doesn’t mean you’re not a bush league bitch.