Expert: Tom Schott - 6/14/2011

Question
Hello Mr. Schott, thanks for reading my question. I don't know a lot of baseball history, so my apologies if this question is a no-brainer!

Sometimes when a game goes into extra innings, a team will end up using most of the players on the bench, although from what I've seen they usually keep one player out in case an emergency replacement is needed. However, it's possible, in that situation, that 2 players could end up getting injured and need to be replaced. (I assume a pitcher would come in). Have you ever seen such a thing happen?

Thank you much!

Answer
Hello, Rem,

I have seen extra-inning games that ended up in situations like this. I cannot remember exactly when and where they were. There was such a game this year, a few days ago, in fact, when an infielder, a shortstop had to pitch because all the pitchers on the team were gone. All you have to remember about a baseball game is that once a player has been taken out of the game, he NEVER gets back in. Which means a manager is sometimes forced to use whoever is available. And if the only guy available is a pitcher, then yes, that pitcher must play whatever position is required.