Pitching by position players

Wade Boggs, who played in 2440 Major League Baseball games and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a third baseman, made two pitching appearances during his major-league career.[1]

In baseball, pitching by position players refers to the act of a position player (a player who is normally a catcher, an infielder, an outfielder, or, in this context, a designated hitter) being used as a pitcher. A position player typically pitches when a game has a lopsided score or when the game has gone so far into extra innings that no other pitchers are available. The term is not used for a two-way player, a baseball player who is skilled at pitching and who plays another position.[a]

Although it was extremely rare for position players to pitch prior to the mid-2010's, pitching by position players has now become relatively common in Major League Baseball as an alternative to using regular pitchers in lopsided games where the winner is beyond reasonable doubt. This has led to rules being implemented to limit the use of position players as pitchers.

  1. ^ "Wade Boggs". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 9, 2022.


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