If the manager of a baseball team decides, in the middle of a game, to have two of his players switch positions with one another, do they switch positions in the batting order as well?
No, this would have no effect on the batting order otherwise you could have your best hitter hit every inning just by switching his postion in the field.
The only time the batting order is affected is if in your in a DH league and you move a pitcher out in to the field. If the pitcher were to switch places with the first baseman, for example, the DH position would be eliminated and the pitcher would bat in that slot for the rest of the game.
Ah, well. I thought I knoew what was going to happen in the next issue of “Young Justice,” but I guess that’s not it…
Chaim Mattis Keller
I don’t know about the last reply. It’s been a long time since I listened or watched any sports other than tennis or running. I used to be a rabid Cub Fan: we’re all mad; but that was eons ago. Anyway, the Cubs are in the NL, of course, where there is no DH. IIRC, anytime a manager puts in two new players, he may switch the positions of the players they replace.
I may be wrong, but I recall times when the manager had an option to switch positions of the players, the particulars having escaped me.
In general the only time a manager has players switch positions in the field is when he has two pitchers he wants to use in the same inning and he wants to use the first pitcher twice. What would happen is the first pitcher comes in and pitches to the first batter. The manager brings in another pitcher for the second batter and the first pitcher replaces an outfielder. After the second batter the first pitcher can pitch to the third batter and the second pitcher plays outfield.
This almost never happens but it could.
If said players have both been in the game, they just switch fielding positions, not batting order. If the manager decides to replace two or more fielders with ones from the bench, that manager would also have the option of altering the batting order to best suit the new players.
Example: the a third-baseman was injured by a line drive, so the manager replaces him along with an outfielder who’s in a slump. The manager has the option of also switching the third-baseman and the outfielder in the batting order.
barbitu8: one of my alternate AOL SNs is CubFan8489. Had to create something to get additional space to store files on my website.
You’re thinking of a double-switch here, barbitu8.
Pitcher X is due up at the beginning of the inning. Weak-hitting Shortstop Y is due up right before Pitcher X . . . IOW, it’ll take a lot of batters to get to Y. So Manager A inserts Pitcher B and Shortstop C into the lineup. Shortstop C hits better than Shortstop Y but can’t field as well. Shortstop C goes into Pitcher X’s spot, and Pitcher B goes to Shortstop Y’s spot.
Basically. You have other nuances and such which others will bring forth inevitably.
The Mets did this in one game a few years ago.
What? Have Superboy bat every inning and knock it out of the park or have Impulse bat every inning and run the bases?
While this is generally true, a manager may also switch left and right fielders depending on the batter’s handedness: Years ago, either the Mets or Expos (I forget which team) nearly ran out of players in a game, and had to use Rusty Staub (who was nearing 40, and had the approximate range of a three toed sloth) in the outfield. They put him in right field when a right handed batter was up, and in left field when a left handed batter was up. In other words, they moved him away from the batter’s “pull” field to minimize the chances that he would have to make a crucial play.
There is also the reasonably infrequent situation where a team is faced with the potential losing run on third base with less than two out (ie, the game is tied and it’s the bottom of the ninth or the bottom of an extra inning): teams will often move one of their three outfielders into an extra infielder position, typically behind second base. This because a fly ball deep enough to allow the runner to tag up and score will end the game anyway and you might as well bring in the extra outfielder to cut off a ground ball up the middle. I saw the Anaheim Angels successfully do this once during a game this year. I do believe that the moved outfielder is still considered to be at his original position for purposes of scoring, however.
Kat:
Lord, I was hoping someone would take the bait.
Here’s what happened that I was referring to. If you’re a comic book reader who has yet to read “Young Justice # 27” and does not want it spoiled, stop reading this message right now.
In the latest issue, Young Justice is forced to play a baseball game against a team of aliens for control over the planets Myrg and, of course, Earth. (Since it’s obvious that the writers are not going to let Earth be taken over by these folks, it’s just a question of guessing how the following cliffhanger will be resolved). Young Justice’s starting lineup includes Impulse pitching (no DH, so he bats as well) and leading off, and Arrowette, not a good hitter, in the outfield. Also, Doiby Dickles (the aged sidekick of the original Green Lantern), not a very good player, is at third. Also, Secret, the first baseman, isn’t a good hitter, either. Those three are the bottom of the batting order. The YJ team has exactly nine; no subs or pinch hitters possible.
Impulse pitched the first eight innings and shut the aliens out by burning in fastballs all the time (Superboy was catching, in case you were wondering). Young Justice went into the top of the ninth with an eleven-run lead. However, in the ninth inning, the aliens, using special tracking devices, managed to enable themselves to tee off on Impulse’s pitching. Robin (second baseman and manager) had Impulse and Arrowette switch positions, and also had Doiby, who was playing third, switch with someone, though I don’t recall who. By the time the aliens were out, they had a 12-11 lead. The issue ends with Young Justice coming to bat in the bottom of the ninth, with Secret, Arrowette and Doiby, none of whom had had a hit the entire game, due up to bat. Robin insists that he knows what he’s doing.
So I was wondering if the strategy with the position-switch also involved a batting-order switch…but from the responses here, that wouldn’t do the trick. So I guess next issue is still a cliffhanger for me.
Chaim Mattis Keller
The game you are thinking of happened in the late '80s. The Mets had two pitchers (Jesse Orosco and Roger McDowell) in the game. Depending on whether the batter was righty or lefty, one would come in to pitch (before you ask; yes, it’s legal. However, a pitcher can’t come in to pitch more than twice in an inning). The other would be in the outfield. In addition, depending on whether the batter was righty or lefty, the extra pitcher would go to left or right field and switch with the regular outfielder who was there.
Zev Steinhardt