Remember that beer league softball game you played in last summer that was tied 17-17 after seven innings, and your team led off the top of the eighth with your drunk friend standing on second base?
Thatap now minor league baseball.
Seriously. MiLB announced a bevy of rule changes Wednesday intended to speed up the pace of play, and among them is an age-old recreational softball rule. If a game is tied after nine innings, the 10th inning will begin with the last batter from the previous frame who failed to reach base safely standing on second base. In other words, if your three-hole hitter was the last out in the ninth inning, your half of the 10th inning would start with him on second base and the No. 4 hitter at the plate. There’s also the option to put a pinch runner on second base, but like regular substitution rules, the player the pinch runner replaced would be scratched from the remainder of the game.
Statistically, that runner will have reached second base on an error, but no error will be charged to the opposing team.
More significantly, if you’re a pitcher who’s called upon to open the 10th in relief, you can give up a seeing-eye single to the leadoff batter or fall victim to a quick fielding error and suffer the loss. It won’t count against your ERA, but itap still a loss.
In addition to speeding up pace of play, another point of this rule is to preserve pitchers as extended games could make a team short on fresh arms the following day.
Itap a weird rule and one the MLBPA rejected when it was proposed for spring training and starting in the 11th inning of the All-Star Game, but with the minors implementing it this year, the reality of it reaching the Bigs might not be that far off.
— , The Denver Post
Want to receive this daily newsletter in your inbox?
What’s on tap?
TV/RADIO: Here’s what sports are airing today
Scoreboard
Cactus League: Dodgers 11, Rockies 6
Full Story |
Must-Read
Key to Colorado Rockies’ successful season will depend on young rotation
Two weeks from Thursday, the Rockies open their 2018 season vs. the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Right-hander Jon Gray, aiming to evolve from a promising pitcher into an ace, will probably be on the mound. Read More…
How new Broncos QB Case Keenum first proved himself a winner under the Friday night lights of Texas
They called it a miracle in Minneapolis. In Abilene, Texas, they called it a flashback. Read More…
Lindsey Vonn pulls within four wins of tying all-time record, claiming downhill at World Cup finals
Lindsey Vonn got off to a shaky start this season, crashing twice at Canada’s Lake Louise resort in December, but she is finishing on a roll. Read More…
Quick Hits
+ It’s official: Broncos announce Case Keenum’s two-year deal.
+ Colorado Buffaloes assistant coach Kwahn Drake brings new energy to defensive line.
+ Jamal Murray says, “I don’t let other people get under my skin” while countering hostile crowd in Denver Nuggets’ loss at Los Angeles Lakers.
+ Crested Butte Mountain Resort joins up with Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass.
+ Three early season story lines to watch in Colorado high school baseball.
+ Broncos to sign CB Tramaine Brock to one-year deal.
+ Lindsey Vonn says her right knee bothered her more than she let on this season.
+ Minor league baseball rule changes include having a runner on second base to start extra innings.
+ Colorado players to watch in the 2018 NCAA women’s basketball tournament
+ Do you like talking about the Rockies? .
By The Numbers
10 of 11
Avalanche has produced points in 10 of 11 games without top defenseman Erik Johnson
Parting Shot
Nuggets Podcast: Was a gut-punch loss in Los Angeles a fatal playoff blow?
In a fresh episode of the Nuggets Ink Podcast, Gina Mizell and Nick Kosmider talk about a crushing loss for the Nuggets in Los Angeles, the team’s bench struggles, the brutal Western Conference and whether the Nuggets have run out of time in the quest for the postseason. Read More…
Get in Touch
If you see something thatap cause for question or have a comment, thought or suggestion, email me at dboniface@denverpost.com or tweet me .
