Pinch runner

A pinch runner is substituted into aUC San Diego Tritonssoftballgame

Inbaseball,apinch runneris a playersubstitutedfor the specific purpose of replacing another player onbase.The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled atbase-runningthan the player for whom the pinch runner has been substituted. Occasionally a pinch runner is inserted for other reasons (such as adouble switch,ejection,or if the original player on base has become injured, such as having beenhit by a pitch).

A pinch runner is not credited with a game played for the purpose of consecutivegame streaks,per Rule 10.24(c) of baseball'sOfficial Rules.For example, in May 1984,Alfredo Griffinof theToronto Blue Jaysscored the winning run in a game, yet his consecutive game streak ended as he appeared only as a pinch runner.

As with other substitutions in baseball, when a player is pinch run for, that player is removed from the game. The pinch runner may remain in the game or be substituted for at the manager's discretion. Earlier inbaseball history,teams would occasionally use "courtesy runners" as well as pinch runners. A baserunner that had to leave the game temporarily due to injury would be replaced by a courtesy runner. The courtesy runner could leave the game and re-enter later, or could be a player already in the game playing a different position. The player who had to leave the game was free to return to play. The last use of a courtesy runner inMajor League Baseballwas in 1949.Rule 3.04 of baseball's Official Rules now forbids courtesy runners.

One of the most famous pinch runners wasHerb Washingtonof theOakland Athletics.Oakland ownerCharlie Finley,known as an unconventional thinker, came to believe that it would be useful to have a "designated runner" —a fast player on the roster whose only job was to periodically enter a game and run the bases for slower players. He signed Washington, atrackstar with no baseball experience. Washington appeared in 105 games for the Athletics in 1974 and 1975, scoring 33 runs and stealing 31 bases, without once playing the field or coming up to bat.His 1975 Toppsbaseball cardis the only baseball card in history to use the "Pinch Runner" position label.

Forstatisticalandscorekeepingpurposes, the pinch runner is denoted byPR.

As of 2023, MLB has been openly considering creating new rules to allow for teams to officially have a "Designated Runner" on their teams. TheAtlantic League of Professional Baseball,an officialMLB Partner League,tested rules for a designated runner in 2023. As described by BallparkDigest,the rules for a Designated Runner are as follows:

Each club will list a player who is not otherwise in the starting lineup as a designated pinch runner. That player may then be substituted at any point into the game as a baserunner. The player who is substituted for, as well as the pinch runner, may then return to the game without penalty.

History

After organized professional baseball was started with the National League in 1876, the National League changed a rule in 1878 so that pinch runners were not allowed except in cases of illness or injury with the substitute entering the game after the original player reached base.

See also

• Pinch hitter

External links

• List of all known instances of courtesy runners