In baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control, and, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or a runner on base advances. [1] A runner who advances due to a passed ball is not credited with a stolen base unless he breaks for the base before the pitcher begins his delivery. [2]
A passed ball may be scored when a base runner reaches the next base on a bobble or missed catch by the catcher, or when the batter–runner reaches first base on an uncaught strike three (see also Strikeout). [2]
A closely related statistic is the wild pitch. As with many baseball statistics, whether a pitch that gets away from a catcher is a passed ball or wild pitch is at the discretion of the official scorer. Typically, pitches that are deemed to be ordinarily catchable by the catcher, but are not, are ruled passed balls; pitches that get by the catcher that are thought to have required extraordinary effort by the catcher in order to stop them are wild pitches. [2] [3] If the pitch was so low as to touch the ground, or so high that the catcher has to rise out of his crouched position to get to it, or so wide that the catcher has to lunge for it, it is usually then considered a wild pitch and not a passed ball.
A run scored due to a passed ball is not recorded as an earned run. However, a run scored due to a wild pitch is recorded as an earned run. [2]
Passed balls and wild pitches are considered to be part of the act of pitching rather than fielding. Thus they are kept as separate statistics and are not recorded as errors. [2]
There tends to be a higher incidence of passed balls when a knuckleballer is pitching. The physics that make a knuckleball so difficult to hit make it similarly difficult to catch. While teams with a knuckleballer on their pitching staff often employ a special "knuckleball catcher" who is equipped with a knuckleball mitt, [4] similar to a first baseman's glove, it is still extremely difficult to catch. [5]
The MLB career record for passed balls allowed is 763 by Pop Snyder, while Rudy Kemmler set the single season record of 114 in 1883. [6] [7] The single season record in the modern era is 35, set by Geno Petralli in 1987. [7] [8] [9] The record for passed balls in a single game, six, was set by Rube Vickers in 1902 and later tied by Petralli in 1987 and Jerry Goff in 1996. [8] [10] [11] The record for passed balls in a single inning is four, and is jointly held by Petralli, Ray Katt, and Ryan Lavarnway, all three of whom were catching knuckleball pitchers(Charlie Hough, Hoyt Wilhelm, and Steven Wright, respectively). [9] [12]
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out at the next base, but the official scorer rules on the question of credit or blame for the advance under Rule 10 of the MLB's Official Rules.
A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This change adds a deflecting force to the baseball, making it difficult for batters to hit but also difficult for pitchers to control and catchers to catch; umpires are challenged as well, as the ball's irregular motion through the air makes it harder to call balls and strikes. A pitcher who throws knuckleballs is known as a knuckleballer.
In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter, to advance.
In baseball or softball, a strikeout occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safely as a result. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is usually denoted by the letter K, or sometimes by the initialism SO. A "strikeout looking"—in which the batter does not swing and the third strike is called by the umpire—may be denoted by an inverted K.
Philip Henry Niekro, nicknamed "Knucksie", was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. Niekro is generally regarded as the greatest knuckleball pitcher of all time.
Timothy Stephen Wakefield was an American professional baseball knuckleball pitcher. Wakefield began his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but is most remembered for his 17-year tenure with the Boston Red Sox, from 1995 until his retirement in 2012 as the longest-serving player on the team, earning a total of $55 million. When he retired at age 45 after 19 seasons in MLB, Wakefield was the oldest active player in the major leagues.
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher is also called upon to master many other skills in order to field the position well. The role of the catcher is similar to that of the wicket-keeper in cricket.
In baseball, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping by IBB, is a walk issued to a batter by a pitcher with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the pitched ball. A pitch that is intentionally thrown far outside the strike zone for this purpose is referred to as an intentional ball.
Charles Oliver Hough is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) knuckleball pitcher and coach who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and Florida Marlins from 1970 to 1994.
Eugene James Petralli is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers from 1982 to 1993.
In baseball and softball, an uncaught third strike occurs when the catcher fails to cleanly catch a pitch for the third strike of a plate appearance. In Major League Baseball (MLB), the specific rules concerning the uncaught third strike are addressed in Rules 5.05 and 5.09 of the Official Baseball Rules:
Jerry Leroy Goff is an American former professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Montreal Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Houston Astros. He was listed at 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and 207 pounds. In his last major league game, Goff tied two other players for the major league record for most passed balls in a single game post-1900. He is the father of NFL quarterback Jared Goff.
Joseph Clifton Martin is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1959 to 1972. Martin played the bulk of his career with the Chicago White Sox, but is most prominent for his involvement in a controversial play that occurred during the 1969 World Series as a member of the New York Mets. He ended his career playing for the Chicago Cubs. After his playing career, he worked as a White Sox color commentator alongside Harry Caray on WSNS television in 1975.
This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries.
Raymond Frederick Katt was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball during the 1950s, and later became the longtime and highly successful head baseball coach of Texas Lutheran University. A lifelong resident of New Braunfels, Texas, Katt stood 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) (183 cm) tall, weighed 200 pounds (91 kg), and threw and batted right-handed in his playing days. He attended Texas A&M University.
In baseball, base running is the act of running from base to base, performed by members of the team at bat.
Steven Richard Wright is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Wright played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, having made his MLB debut in 2013; he was an All-Star in 2016, and played for the team through 2019. He is known for his knuckleball pitch.
Ryan Cole Lavarnway is an American-Israeli former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins, and Cleveland Indians. In international competition, he plays for Team Israel, and competed for them in the World Baseball Classic and in the Olympics.
