D3K should not be a WP

[NuggDawg]

Just for the hey bucket of it, I'm suggesting a scoring guidelines change should be made for the case where a batter with 2 strikes swings and misses a pitch in the dirt but safely reaches 1st base.

As it stands now, this is a wild pitch, which would make the runner eligible to score an earned run.
It's not a passed ball, because the catcher didn't have the opportunity to catch the ball.

So why should the pitcher get statistically punished? She stuck out the batter.

Why not just make this situation one where the runner is not eligible to score an earned run, and the inning would have to be reconstructed as if the runner had been put out when determining earned runs?

[Ace]

Sooo, your daughters a pitcher i take it?

[Sam]

Just for the hey bucket of it, I'm suggesting a scoring guidelines change should be made for the case where a batter with 2 strikes swings and misses a pitch in the dirt but safely reaches 1st base.

As it stands now, this is a wild pitch, which would make the runner eligible to score an earned run.
It's not a passed ball, because the catcher didn't have the opportunity to catch the ball.

So why should the pitcher get statistically punished? She stuck out the batter.

Why not just make this situation one where the runner is not eligible to score an earned run, and the inning would have to be reconstructed as if the runner had been put out when determining earned runs?

The official scorer has the ability to score the pitch as a WP if the pitch is wild or as a PB if the pitch should have been caught by the catcher. If it is a WP, the pitcher is in danger of allowing earned runs because of the D3K....if it is a PB, it is treated like an error on F2, though F2 does not get an actual error on the play...only a charged PB. Its pretty fair to both.

[simmerdown]

Like you said, the catcher didn't have a an opportunity to catch the ball. Who then should take the blame? I love seeing a batter who knows the count and can take advantage of a pitch in the ground knowing it can't be caught by the catcher. Kudos to the batter! She wouldn't be on base if it wasn't for the mistake by the pitcher, the batter did earn it!

[NuggDawg]

Kudos to the batter! She wouldn't be on base if it wasn't for the mistake by the pitcher, the batter did earn it!

Your description doesn't quite fit the scenario. We're not giving credit to batters who strike out. The pitch is not a mistake . . . it's intentional.

I'm talking about the pitcher with a wicked change-up or drop that falls off the table and that the batter can't resist. The batter could have even tried to hold her swing but couldn't, so she knows she's got strike 3 and should get her butt movin'.

Think of the smart, capable pitcher facing a great contact hitter who the pitcher knows is susceptible to a change-up.

The catcher knows it's coming. We think she should then be well set up to block it, but things happen.

[Lefty's Dad]

...The pitch is not a mistake . . . it's intentional.
The catcher knows it's coming. We think she should then be well set up to block it, but things happen.

First...I could argue that a pitch in the dirt is a mistake but I guess there could be case where that would be beneficial If that's a normal "non-mistake" pitch you better have a catcher that can block it.
Second, if the catcher knows it's coming, then she should be set up to block it and if it bounces anywhere near the plate I would consider it a PB. Of course then you have the issue of the catcher not making the tag or making a bad throw to first as well, then it is an error on F2.
Of course, I could be wrong, it has happened before. I just can't remember when

[almosthuman]

Who gives a rats a$$ who's fault it is. The bright side is your pitcher can have a helluva strikeouts per innings pitched ratio if she has a nasty uncatchable pitch the batter can't lay off or if her catcher is inept.

The only stat that matters is the W or the L.

[GIMNEPIWO]

Just because a pitch is un-catchable does not make it a wild pitch ... think of the knuckler ... a if a catcher drops and blocks you can still have a D3K ... if the catcher does miss a catchable strike, as Sam points out the official scorer can score a passed ball on a D3K ...

[2bucketdad]

A pitch in the dirt and a dropped third strike are two entirely different things...and both may or may not be a wild pitch...It isn't always black and white...

[Joe Dirt]

I was looking for that exact part of the scoring rules. It seems pretty clear, and fair.