In baseball who decides the difference between a passed ball and a wild throw?
DrKDB asked:
In baseball the distinction between passed ball and a wild pitch can get pretty ‘thin’. My son is a catcher- I don’t think he should be chaged with a passed ball if it’s above the umpires head or maybe even higher (I think of Rick Ankiel)
In baseball the distinction between passed ball and a wild pitch can get pretty ‘thin’. My son is a catcher- I don’t think he should be chaged with a passed ball if it’s above the umpires head or maybe even higher (I think of Rick Ankiel)
I think the official scorekeeper gets the final say. Lots of stats like that in baseball are judgement calls.
The score keeper decides whether or not a pitch is a passed ball or a wild pitch.
It is the official scorekeeper. This person is often times associated with the home team. From my understanding if it is something he should be able to block and he misses it that it is a passed ball. But like others have said it is a judgement call. I agree with you if its over the umpires head that should be a wild pitch.
It it decided at the moment by the home team score keeper. If there is a challenge to it (rare) after the game the league will review it as will the Umpire Execs. Than an official change can be made. The visiting team has 24 hours to challenge.
Scorekeeper
a pass ball is a pitch that the catcher should have caught. A wild pitch is usually uncatchable
“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. “
The score keeper makes the call, when in doubt, the home plate umpire will be consulted because he have the best view.
It is the official scorer’s responsibility to determine whether a pitch is a wild pitch or passed ball. To me, it is usually fairly obvious. If there’s no realistic way the catcher can catch or block the pitch, it’s a wild pitch. If not, it’s a passed ball.