Talk:Batting out of turn

Thanks for that article. I am just wondering about one thing though: If two batters basically switch their position in the order and the defense fails to call out the first one prior to the first pitch, but then realizes that the second batter is out of order, wouldn't it make more sense to wait until he completes his at-bat before calling the Umps attention to it? As I understand your examples, the out is recorded and his at-bat is nullified no matter what. If they call it during the at bat, the batter in order gets a chance to produce? What if the ump is notified of the first batter being out of order during the at bat, is the real batter allowed to complete the at-bat? Thanks! [[User:Yardcock|Yardcock | talk]] 20:37, Aug 31, 2004 (UTC)

Good questions! If your first priority is good will and good sportsmanship, the defense should notify the umpire immediately when they discover any potential BOOT situation. If it is in the middle of the at-bat of an improper batter, then the proper batter will take his place without penalty. However, if the defense's priority is to get batters out, then you would want to wait in some situations. If a batter is currently improper, the defense may wish to wait and see what happens--if an improper batter reaches base, they will then notify the umpire (before another pitch is thrown). The umpire will then nullify the batter's action, call the proper batter out, thus the defense gains an out! Smart play but pretty sneaky. I wouldn't recommend it at the youth level. If an improper batter makes an out, the defense may wish to ignore it in the hopes that they may reproduces their mistake later in the game.

In response to your last question, yes, I think the article makes it clear that the proper batter can come to the plate at anytime during the at bat without penalty. --Locarno 21:44, 31 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Thanks. Looks to me though that it is a lot more sneaky to wait and see if the opponent does it again and then use it to your advantage ;). I have never seen this, how often does it actually happen? [[User:Yardcock|Yardcock | talk]] 22:25, Sep 1, 2004 (UTC)

I have never seen this occur in Major League Baseball, but I've read about it:

[1]

[2]

[3]

In umpiring youth and High School games, I have enforced it a few times.

--Locarno 13:17, 2 Sep 2004 (UTC)

It happened in a game yesterday (9/1/07) between Seattle and Toronto. Correct order was Hill, Overbay, Zahn, but Overbay batted before Hill and made an out. Hill then doubled but Seattle manager appealed and the double was nullified.

However - Zahn then batted and from then on the correct sequence was used. But as I read the rule, Zahn should have been called out for not having batted in the proper order (after Overbay batted without any appeal Zahn then became the "proper batter"). So Zahn actually batted out of turn also. Also, Hill seems to have been credited with a time at bat in the official box score, when actually Zahn should have been (as I see it). Gr8white 23:57, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

The above is included in the "Retrosheet", which is noted further below. Based on what I see above, Overbay's out counted and Zahn became the proper batter (even though this would cause Hill to be skipped), so Hill's double was out of turn, and the appeal should have resulted in Zahn being out, Hill being removed from base, and the proper batter being the batter next after Zahn in the order. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.63.16.82 (talk) 14:33, 4 August 2011 (UTC)

It's not sneaky at all to refrain from pointing out BOOT situation. By rule, that applies to the umpires and the official scorers. And if you are on the defensive team (like manager), you probably want the improper batter to finish his plate appearance before making a decision about the BOOT situation, and if the improper batter makes an out with no run being scored, you probably want to say nothing. There was a 1967 situation (Pittsburgh Pirates vs. NY Mets) where 2 Pirate batters switched (adjacent) places in the order, and the Mets said nothing until, during the 2nd time through the Pirates' batting order, an improper batter doubled with 2 out, scoring 2 runs; then the Mets appealled, and the double and 2 runs were wiped out, killing the Pirates' rally. There is a "Retrosheet" site which lists batting-out-of-turn incidents in the major leagues. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.63.16.82 (talk) 14:26, 4 August 2011 (UTC)