# Throwing the game

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-the-game/770930>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [November 7, 2016, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-the-game/770930 "2016-11-07T02:45:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-the-game/770930/21 "2016-11-07T23:15:40Z")

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> [@Ponch8](#):
>
> Similarly, in baseball, a team will occasionally start a pitcher who normally is used only from the bullpen or who just got called up from the minor leagues, knowing full well he may not do a very good job. This is done to make sure the regular starting pitchers get enough rest. The manager is willing to give the opponent a near-certain win in order to make sure his own pitching staff stays fresh.

The proper strategy in baseball is not to maximize the chances of a given game, but maximize your chances of winning as many games as you need. Most teams have a five man rotation and their pitchers usually have four days of rest (or more if there’s an off day). If you have a double header with 6 games in 5 days, it is perfectly proper I’d say to use a non-regular starter. In fact the major league even allows teams to add a 26th player to their rosters on days with a double-header. Quite often this is a minor league started.

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**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-the-game/770930/22 "2016-11-08T02:19:08Z")

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> [@Loach](#):
>
> The [CCNY](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCNY_point_shaving_scandal)point shaving scandal was in the early 50s.

And [Boston College](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978%E2%80%9379_Boston_College_basketball_point_shaving_scandal) in 1978-79.

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**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-the-game/770930/23 "2016-11-08T02:25:56Z")

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There have been a few times in both College and Pro football where a defense has lay down for a pass to let a QB break a record of some kind but in none of those cases did it effect the game’s outcome (I don’t think).

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**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-the-game/770930/24 "2016-11-08T03:18:21Z")

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I used to wonder about some of the college football pre-bowl games, especially with the gigantic amounts of money in the big bowls. Those amounts are usually split among the conference. Couple of random scenarios:

Not so much for the big boys, but what if Nevada was playing 11-0 Boise State in the last week. Nevada loses, and Boise goes to the Fiesta Bowl and the conference splits $12 million. Win, Boise, now 11-1 goes to the Independence Bowl for a $500,000 payout.

Or what if two teams are competing for meaningless bowls in their conference pecking order? Kansas State plays Texas Tech in the last weekend. If KSU wins, they’ll get invited to the bowl in Boise. If they lose, they get relegated to the Hawaii Bowl.

I could understand why Nevada and KSU might not try _that_ hard.

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