Scenario: The first two batters of an inning strike out. The third hits a soft grounder that hops up into the pitcher’s glove. The pitcher has plenty of time to make the out but throws the ball wide of the fielder, allowing the batter-runner to reach first safely. The fourth batter punishes the pitcher for this error with a home run. The fifth hits a grounder straight to the second baseman, who, just like the pitcher, has plenty of time to make the out but directs the ball wide of the fielder, allowing the batter-runner to reach first safely. The sixth batter capitalizes on the second baseman’s error by hitting the team’s second home run of the inning. The seventh batter lines out to the third baseman.
As the official scorer, how many of the 4 runs do you charge as earned runs against the pitcher?
A – 0.
BÂ – 1.
CÂ – 2.
D – 3.
Highlight the text below to reveal the answer:
Answer:Â A – 0.
Rule 10.16 states:
… In determining earned runs, the official scorer shall reconstruct the inning without the errors …
Rule 10.16(e) states:
An error by a pitcher is treated exactly the same as an error by any other fielder in computing earned runs.
Treating the pitcher’s error like any other error, the inning should have finished when the third batter grounded to the pitcher, at which point 0 runs had scored.
