Charles Curtis
June 5, 2022 8:10 am ET
I’ll bet a lot that you didn’t know this Major League Baseball rule that was enforced Saturday night.
And that’s totally OK, because neither did an MLB manager: The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Dave Roberts.
On Saturday night, the Dodgers were down 9-4 to the New York Mets. In the ninth inning, Roberts decided that he didn’t want to waste a reliever — although, that’s a pretty close game to do so in — so he called on Zach McKinstry to pitch.
McKinstry is a utility player.
But umpires declared that it was against the rules to bring in a position player to pitch in this case, so the Dodgers needed to call on Evan Phillips instead. And the Dodgers’ bullpen coach was furious because Phillips didn’t have enough time to warm up. It was a whole mess.
Let’s break this all down:
What happened?
Here’s the whole thing:
Dave Roberts tried to bring in Zach McKinstry to pitch the 9th inning, but the Mets weren't leading by 6 runs so he wasn't allowed to.
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/Nojv7Sb89O
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 5, 2022
Because the Dodgers were within 6 runs, Dave Roberts was forced to bring in Evan Phillips from the bullpen.
Gary: "This is so embarrassing for Major League Baseball." pic.twitter.com/dAUAzG2dSa
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 5, 2022
So: Roberts wanted McKinstry, the umpires talked about it, they enforced a fairly new rule here, and Phillips had to come in.
What rule is that?
You heard the announcement. If your team is down six runs or fewer, you can’t have a position player pitch. From ESPN.com:
After position players made 90 pitching appearances in 2019 and 75 in 2018, Major League Baseball and the players association agreed prior to the 2020 season to outlaw using position players as pitchers in games with a deficit of five runs or fewer. The rule was suspended the past two years amid concerns over pitcher injuries prompted by the pandemic, but it was restored this season.
There is an exception: If the pitcher is a designated as a “two-way player,” they’re allowed anytime.
How is a two-way player defined?
Teams can also designate players astwo-way playersif they meet certain criteria. Two-way players are able to pitch in any situation but don’t count toward the active roster’s pitcher total.
Players qualify for the two-way designation if they have met both of these conditions in either the current or previous MLB season:
• Pitched at least 20 Major League innings
• Played at least 20 Major League games as a position player or designated hitter, with at least three plate appearances in each game
What a wild scene
There was lots of reaction to all this, including a lot of anger over Roberts giving up in a relatively close game:
Imagine throwing in the towel in a 5 run game. That’s not even a joke, like for real, that’s pretty pathetic and has Big Cincinnati Reds Energy. Dave Roberts should be embarrassed for even trying it, let alone failing at it.
— Maggie Wiggin (@maggie162) June 5, 2022
Dave Roberts: *throws in towel*
Buck: *throws it back at Dave*
— j u l i e (@Lets86it) June 5, 2022
Dave Roberts and all the other Data Applicators are an embarrassment to what used to be Major League Baseball.
— Sal Licata (@sal_licata) June 5, 2022
Dave Roberts can’t be serious with that move man. He essentially giving up on the win by having position player pitch.
— Chris Williamson (@CWilliamson44) June 5, 2022
Dave Roberts quitting down five runs and putting a position player out there to pitch is an absolute embarrassment.
— Foil Hot Dog Liners (@jerseypiroz) June 5, 2022
I could only imagine the headlines if the Mets were on the other end of this
Dave Roberts may get a player hurt because he doesn’t know the Rules
— Phill 🥶 (@MeekPhill_) June 5, 2022
Umps now giving the reliever excessive warmups and the 9th inning is delayed by 11 minutes. CB Bucknor should lose his status as a crew chief and Dave Roberts should be suspended. It's just bush league.
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) June 5, 2022
This isn’t even the first time in the last 12 months Dave Roberts has tried putting in a posiiton player while down five runs.
The rule is actually in effect for this season, though. Wasn’t last year. pic.twitter.com/W5WSZe5Vpz
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) June 5, 2022
