Batting out of order: the penalty and the appeal
Batting out of order only costs you an out if the defense appeals at the right moment. If they speak up too early, nothing happens, and if they wait too long, it's legal.
Your scorekeeper tugs your sleeve and tells you that the wrong player is at the plate. Now what?
It depends on when you say something, and the timing decides everything.
Batting out of order is an appeal play. The umpire won’t fix it, and the official scorekeeper isn’t supposed to say a word. The defense has to bring it up (if appeals are new to you, start here).
While the wrong batter is still hitting. There’s no penalty at all. The right batter steps in and takes over the count, so 1-2 on the wrong batter is 1-2 on the right one. If it’s YOUR batter, fix it yourself right away.
After he finishes, before the next pitch. This is the window. If the defense appeals now, the batter who SHOULD have hit is called out, and whatever the wrong batter did is erased. His hit comes off the board, and the runners go back (a stolen base or wild pitch during the at-bat stands). The next batter is whoever follows the player who was just called out.
After the next pitch, it’s too late. The wrong batter’s turn is now legal, and the order picks up with whoever follows HIM. The players who got skipped lose their turn, and no one is out.
So when do you appeal? If the wrong batter made an out, keep quiet, because you already have your out. If he ripped a double, I’d appeal before your pitcher throws again. But wait for the at-bat to end. If you appeal in the middle of it, all you’ve done is help the other coach fix his lineup.
Does your scorekeeper know to check the order every inning?
Which rulebook? Official Baseball Rules 6.03(b). NFHS 7-1 works the same way, and so do the youth codes built on the pro rules: the appeal has to come before the next pitch or play. The rule still applies when you bat the whole roster.
Your scorekeeper tugs your sleeve. The wrong player is at the plate, and he’s your hitter. The count is 1-2, and the other team hasn’t noticed. What do you do?
Still have a question? Ask Coach Fungo.
“Keep your own book. The umpire isn't going to fix your lineup for you.”
Does the pitcher have to come set before a pickoff?
The stop is required before a pitch, not before a throw to a base. From the stretch, he can lift his hands and throw to first without ever stopping, as long as he steps toward the base.
“If he steps toward first before he throws, a quick pickoff without a stop is legal.”
Appeal play: missed bases and early tag-ups
A runner who misses a base or leaves early on a tag-up isn't out until the defense appeals. We have to do it the right way, and we have to do it before the next pitch.
“The whole park saw him miss second. If you don't appeal before the next pitch, it never happened.”
The rules quiz
Ten questions, two minutes. Would you have gotten the call right?
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