What happens when a MLB game goes so far into extra innings that a team runs out of available pitchers?

Question

Has there ever been a time that this has happened? Say a starting pitcher had a bad night and they had to go to the bullpen early, and went through the relief, only to have their closer give up enough runs to tie the game. What would happen if that game was tied 15-16 innings and all you had available was a closing pitcher??? What if he got hurt or just couldn't pitch more than 3 innings?

Answer 1

a position player would have to pitch and that pitcher would have to play that position

Answer 2

Most likely if a game went that long they would suspend it and pick it up where they left on a different day. Teams generally have 12-13 pitchers, so they could go 20+ innings easily. By that time it would probably be 3 in the morning. Position players would have to pitch, unless new pitchers were called up from the minors before the game was finished. There was a minor league game in the 80s that went like 34 innings, they suspended it at 4 am after 33 innings and played the 34th two months later.

Answer 3

other Posistion players example OF IF pitch

Actualy something hapened like that in 1986 to the Mets when the Mets hat to use two Pitchers as OF and they still won. Same for a posistion player nedding to pitch if there are no pitchers left.

If actually heard Catchers are the best pitchers after the pitchers themselves.

I've seen it in the Home Run Derby Loduca NYM catcher pitcht to Wright NYM 3rd base and he actually threw strikes that how david hit so many home runs in the first round









Also the All star game is an exibition game in a regular game they would have to use posistion players as pitchers under MLB rules it can't be called off

Answer 4

Then you would go to positional players. Any player on the roster can pitch at any situation. Dave McCarthy a couple of years ago usually played outfield and 1st base for the Red Sox. He ended up one game needed to play pitcher and came in a pitched an inning.

Answer 5

It would be interesting if the game had gone so long that everyone had been used up except the nine men on the field and then one of them got ejected... not sure what would happen then. It's never happened in MLB that I know of, but a team is required to have nine players available. Probably results in a forfeit -- and almost certainly something the umpires would avoid doing (the ejection) unless it was for something really flagrant.

Ah! Rule 4.17:
A game shall be forfeited to the opposing team when a team is unable or refuses to place nine players on the field.

So, if a team gets down to its last nine eligible players and one gets ejected or injured, it would be a forfeit.

Answer 6

Use a position player on the mound. It's happened before, though usually in a blowout situation where the manager doesn't want to risk injuring a member of a tired bullpen. I suppose if the managers agreed, they could suspend the game, but I doubt it would ever come to that.

Answer 7

Non pitchers have pitched many times. There are 25 players on a team, they are all eligible to pitch.

Answer 8

this happened in an all-star game... both teams ran out of pitchers after 11 innings and guess what they did. They called the game off. So my answer to this question would be that if both teams run out of pitchers, they would call the game off. Score doesn't matter. They never decided who won that all star game. It wasn't that long ago.

Answer 9

The game goes on. If they have to use position players thats what they have to do. I have seen this happen a couple of times. You would be surprised some of those guys can actually pitch.

Answer 10

They go to position players. Arizona did this a couple of years back when the brought in Mark Grace. It was funny seeing someone lob it over the plate at 65 mph and watching how the hitters were reacting. I mean thats probably slower than batting practice.

Answer 11

I have seen many times when a team has to use a position player to pitch. I guess if they totally run out, it could be a tie like in that all-star game a few years ago...