Balk three times ... and bye bye

Minor league games should be capped at 12 innings.

If it's a tie, it's wiped off the books -- no game.

 

A friend sent me this story yesterday morning. He knows Steverson and I know Blaney. Steverson is a good guy. Blaney is a first-class asshole. I side with Steverson. I know people who coached in that league. Bottom line: it's "developmental" and you're not developing anything if you get guys hurt.

 

Is there a rule against intentionally walking guys to lose the game? I guess there probably is, if there's a rule against intentionally balking in runs.

I realize your position player is still throwing, but if they're IBBs, then he's really just having a game of catch with the catcher.

He probably should've been a little more creative. Walk a guy, hit a batter, balk to advance the runners, then a wild pitch to let the run score.

 

Slow pitch.

 

I think minor league baseball should be played without a scoreboard.

 

And they should all get trophies. They work so hard.

 

Nice touch.

 

Am reminded of something kinda similar. Staffed a wood-bat collegiate league for a few seasons back in the day. My beat team had to play a impromptu one-game playoff the day after the regular season concluded ... complete farce. Coach/manager of the team I'm covering knows it. Puts pitchers in the outfield with orders not to fire to the plate on singles with runners on second, etc. Puts some position players on the mound with the understanding that they don't need to be trying anything that will make them sequels to the Jose Canseco pitching fiasco.

Blazing hot day, and it was a day game because the postseason tournament started the next day. Lost the game ... didn't matter to the team I was covering, which was in the postseason tourney anyway. Got down to talk to the coach after the game, who was careful but still let the league have it postgame. Wouldn't have argued any word or point he made even if I had editorial power to say anything.

Team made it to the championship despite using up much of his pitching staff and having at least three starting position players get hurt. How much worse had it been if he had to throw out an arm or three in a pre-tournament game that otherwise meant absolutely nothing? Funny enough, he's now at a decent D-II school with his own program ... good for him ...

 

Tie games count in MLB, or at least the stats do. Ties in baseball usually only happen because of weather — no tie has been declared because of darkness since Wrigley got lights.

Tie games ended by weather used to be replayed from the start, but since 2007, the games are continued from where they left off. A tie game may also be declared if a game is tied, the two teams are not scheduled to play again for the remainder of the year, and the game does not affect playoff implications. I've never seen this come into play, but I believe MLB now has a rule that no inning can begin after 1 a.m. local time.

Probably the same in MiLB or reasonably close. Leagues may have differing rules.

 

Please tell me you gave the losing coach your paper's coach of the year award on the spot.

 

Would only prolong the game.
The floater worked for Henry Rowengartner to get the game-winning K, sending the Cubs to the World Series. So why would it help the other team score in a minor league game?

 

I looked up the boxscore from the game, Stockton used 7 pitchers and Modesto 8.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2012_06_23_stoafa_modafa_1

Now, I'm not sure how many of those pitchers were position players, but if the game is suspended and played again at a later date, each team could have a couple of their starting pitchers orepared and available to go.