AboutTom Schott Expertise I will deal with the major leagues only from 19th century to present. I`m good on baseball history, records, statistics, ballparks. I don't do off-the-field stuff. Please if you already know the answer to the question, please don't ask it. I don't want to play "stump the expert."
Experience I've written on the subject, and I have substantial library of resources.
Organizations SABR
Publications Numerous encyclopedia, newspaper, magazine articles. One book, several book chapters.
Question When calculating how many innings a pitcher has worked, you always see the fractional inning as a fraction of 1/3 or 2/3 (obviously 3/3 would be a complete inning). Examples: 4 and 1/3 innings, 7 and 2/3 innings, etc. So how many innings has a pitcher worked if he has faced 1 or more batters but pulled from the game before any outs have been recorded while he has been the pitcher? Also, is this common? I would think this would be more common with middle relievers but could apply to any pitcher having a really bad day.
Answer Tom,
If he has faced 1 batter or 10 batters without recording an out, the official innings pitched is zero. And just think how much that hurts an ERA if he gives up earned runs without adding any innings pitched. Today, though, the number of batters faced by a pitcher is one that's tracked, so you can find out just how badly he actually did.
It's much more common with starters than you would think. I just ran a check on this and discovered that this event--pitcher starts a game and doesn't get any outs has happened 613 times since 1954 (the first year for which I have data for stuff like this). It happens 10 or 11 times a year on average.
