Home Keeping scoreGreat Britain Baseball Scorers AssociationYou Are the Scorer You Are the Scorer: Number 1

You Are the Scorer: Number 1

by Joe Gray

YouAreScorer


Scenario:
With a runner on first base and no count on the batter, the pitcher throws the ball in the dirt, the batter does not swing, and the ball bounces up to the catcher for the easiest of takes. However, the ball bounces off the side of the cather’s mitt and trundles off towards the backstop, causing the runner to set off for second base. The runner is able to reach second safely.

How would you score the runner’s advancement to second?

A – Stolen base.
B – Wild pitch.
C – Passed ball.
D – None of the above.

Highlight the text below to reveal the answer:
 

Answer: B – Wild pitch.

It is not a passed ball because Rule 10.13(a) states:
The official scorer shall charge a pitcher with a wild pitch when a legally delivered ball touches the ground or home plate before reaching the catcher and is not handled by the catcher, thereby permitting a runner or runners to advance

It is not a stolen base because the runner set off after the pitcher delivered the ball, and Rule 10.07(a) states:
When a runner starts for the next base before the pitcher delivers the ball and the pitch results in what ordinarily is scored a wild pitch or passed ball, the official scorer shall credit the runner with a stolen base

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