Hot Stove League, 1960

March 8, 1960: The Times published a month of these features in March 1960, so I’ve decided to string them out on Thursdays so they’ll last a good part of the year. Enjoy!

LEFT

Comments

[Native Angeleno]

I believe either Ben Olan got the rule wrong, or it has changed since 1960 (likely). I can remember instances when the batter was called out once the pitching team's manager allowed one pitch thrown to a batter incorrectly inserted in the batting order, which is to say, allowed by the ump to bat without notifying the team that's pitching to him.

The pitching team must be made formally aware of the identity of the batter, or powerful subs could sneak in to bat at crucial moments willy-nilly without knowing how they are to be pitched to, defensed, etc.