Tonight in our game (high school) our starting pitcher went two innings. In the bottom of the second inning we hit for about an hour so we obviously killed this team. Because our starter sat so long we went with another pitcher (plus to get this kid some work).

In a 5 inning game how many innings do you have to pitch to get the win? In a 7 inning game how many innings do you have to pitch to get the win?

You can find the answer in 9-6-6. Here's the essential part:
"a. If the starting pitcher has pitched the first four innings or more and his team is ahead when he is replaced and the team holds the lead for the remainder of the game, he shall be the winning pitcher.
b. If a game ends for whatever reason, having gone less than seven innings, then the starting pitcher shall have pitched three or more consecutive innings to be declared the winning pitcher."

So four innings if the game goes 7 innings; only 3 innings if the game ends sooner.

If I had to pick a scoring decision that is more universally screwed up than any other, it would be the assignment of wins and losses. I have seen a starter, who goes 5 innings, get credited with wins in games that go 9 innings.

The 4 inning requirement is almost never handled properly. My son got a 4 inning save in a game earlier in the year. If you think about it for a second, you'll realilze this is impossible. He got a save in a game where he BLEW the save in the 6th and we ended up winning in the 7th. They gave the win to the starter, even though he finished.

I don't know what FED says about saves, but it seems like teams that win in run rules have pitchers getting saves. That is possible, but highly unlikely.

Your son should have gotten the win. Once the game is tied or the other team goes ahead, then the winning picture is the one who was the pitcher of record at the time the winning runs were scored.

I realize that. The point is that most HS scorers don't know what they're doing.

Don't get me started on earned runs. Sometimes I think they see a ball leave the park in the air, reaching the third deck and score errors on the OF for not making it all the way up there and catching it before it lands, or scoring an error on the pitcher for making a bad pitch...

Coach .... Since your starter didn't pitch long enough to qualify for the win, even though he left with the lead, you award the win to a following pitcher who pitched the most effectively. It's a judgement call.

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He got a save in a game where he BLEW the save in the 6th and we ended up winning in the 7th.

A pitcher can't blow a save then receive credit for a save. If the game became tied and then the team took the lead while he was pitching, he was the winning pitcher despite pitching ineffectively.

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The point is that most HS scorers don't know what they're doing.

I don't believe a blanket statement is appropriate. You should only make the comment about your son's school. It depends who's keeping score. I've coached travel through 18U. I keep score for my son's high school team. I know what I'm doing. And when in doubt I look it up or ask reliable sources that evening.

There are people keeping score who don't know the rules. But the biggest offenders of ignorance are the parents who question decisions when they don't know the rules. My favorite is "It has to be a hit. No one touched it" after two outfielders do a rain dance under a ball to the tune of "I got it, you got it." One claimed it was a hit since it didn't touch the infielder going through his legs.

Here's one for you: Ground ball to second. Off the bat it looks like a routine groundout to second. The second baseman doesn't mishandle the ball. He takes a long time getting the ball out of his glove. He looks at the ball. He double pumps. He throws a floater to first. The hitter beats the throws by inches. What's the call?

You are correct a player does not have to touch a ball to be consider an error...Official scorer's judgement. Very brave of you to be the offcial scorer for your Son's high school team.



Rule 10.12(a)(1) Comment: Slow handling of the ball that does not involve mechanical misplay shall not be construed as an error. For example, the official scorer shall not charge a fielder with an error if such fielder fields a ground ball cleanly but does not throw to first base in time to retire the batter. It is not necessary that the fielder touch the ball to be charged with an error. If a ground ball goes through a fielder’s legs or a fly ball falls untouched and, in the scorer’s judgment, the fielder could have handled the ball with ordinary effort, the official scorer shall charge such fielder with an error. For example, the official scorer shall charge an infielder with an error when a ground ball passes to either side of such infielder if, in the official scorer’s judgment, a fielder at that position making ordinary effort would have fielded such ground ball and retired a runner. The official scorer shall charge an outfielder with an error if such outfielder allows a fly ball to drop to the ground if, in the official scorer’s judgment, an outfielder at that position making ordinary effort would have caught such fly ball. If a throw is low, wide or high, or strikes the ground, and a runner reaches base who otherwise would have been put out by such throw, the official scorer shall charge the player making the throw with an error.

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Very brave of you to be the offcial scorer for your Son's high school team.

I'm in charge of the website. The high school girl keeping score was brutal. I had to reconcile the book against the video of the game.nAfter two games I started keeping score myself. The coach told me to make it the official book. It didn't take long for parents to figure out.

RJM: Didn't mean to offend you. I know there are good scorers out there who care. I get fed up with these scorers who either haven't been trained (more politically correct way of saying don't know what they're doing) or simply don't take the time to figure out the winning and losing pitcher. I think this is disrespectful of the game. Everyone involved in the game (players, coaches, umpires) should respect the game if nothing else. The scorer should as well. Obviously you're one of those (like myself) who does their best to get it right. Won't say I do every time, but I try. My book doesn't even count.

I think bad scorers are not just present at our high school, but through our whole conference (at least). Most of them use a student in the dugout. My son has told me on his team, the players attempt to convince her to change her scoring decisions (he deserved a hit on that one, come on...). Not the player who hit it, but the bench players doing this. I think this is wrong as well.

Not taking the time on the WP/LP is frequent when the home team loses. They usually just give the decision to the starter. This is how my son can get a 4 inning save, a blown save and a save in the same game or a pitcher who throws the first 5 innings of an extra inning game get a win and the pitcher who started for the losing team who went six get the loss.

I think teams have their pitchers try and figure out which runs are earned, but don't get me started on figuring earned runs. (can't resist) I swear the only way some of these runs can be unearned is if they score an error on the pitcher for throwing a fast ball down the middle that gets hit hard. I think every kid on our team has an ERA that is at least .5 on the low side. I know my son has given up two more earned runs than they've credited him with. They got the runs, so it isn't that.

On your question, I'd have to bite my tounge and score a hit as slow playing of the ball is not an error. Dad43 posted the answer anyway.

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A pitcher can't blow a save then receive credit for a save. If the game became tied and then the team took the lead while he was pitching, he was the winning pitcher despite pitching ineffectively.

Here's a related scoring situation for you - just curious, it doesn't matter a bit to me!

A scorer tried to give my son both a Win and a Save for a HS game once. He pitched the first 5 innings of the first game of the season. Since the team had a comfortable lead (about 5 or 6 runs I think) and it was just the start of the season, the coach had a reliever pitch the 6th inning while my son went to 1B - his pitch count was low and arm felt fine, but it seemed like an opportunity to spread the innings out. The other pitcher gave up something like 4 or 5 runs in one inning, so the team now only had a 1-run lead. The coach brought son back over to the mound for the 7th inning, which was scoreless.

The A.D. was at the game and told scorer he should give both Win and Save to my son.

Not that it mattered to anyone, but that's not possible, is it? (I think they ended up counting only the Win.)

Julie

Julie,

OBR makes it impossible to get bothnote (b) below)

10.19 The official scorer shall credit a pitcher with a save when such pitcher meets all four of the following conditions:
(a) He is the finishing pitcher in a game won by his team;
(b) He is not the winning pitcher;
(c) He is credited with at least ⅓ of an inning pitched; and
(d) He satisfies one of the following conditions:
(1) He enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches for at least one inning;
(2) He enters the game, regardless of the count, with the potential tying run either on base, or at bat or on deck (that is, the potential tying run is either already on base or is one of the first two batters he faces); or
(3) He pitches for at least three innings.