RESTRICTIONS ON PITCHERS WARMING UP - Baseball Rules Academy (2024)

FAQs

How long before games do pitchers warm up? ›

They should be at least warming up for 30 minutes prior to pitching in a game.

Managers or coaches are permitted to warm up a pitcher at home plate or in the bullpen or elsewhere at any time, including in-game warm-up, pre-game warm-up, and in other instances. They may also stand by to observe a pitcher during warm-up in the bullpen. Please reference rule 3.09 for more information.

Also, pitchers are not allowed to rub the ball on their clothes, glove or other body parts besides their hands, nor are they permitted to pitch with an attachment such as a bandage, tape or bracelet on either hand or wrist.

'Disengagement' rule

Thanks to the new rules in 2023, a pitcher is only allowed to "disengage" from the pitcher's rubber on the mound twice per plate appearance with a runner on base. Even if he doesn't throw over, just stepping off is a disengagement.

Day before a start I give guys a lot of freedom on what they want to do. I want them to do whatever is going to get them prepared for their start. I do encourage them to at least throw a little bit. This is also a good day just to spin a few breaking balls and throw a few change ups.

That being said, every pitcher needs to do a proper pregame warmup and stretches in order to maximize performance. This can mean the difference between success and failure on the mound. A good warmup helps reduce the risk of injury and improve your ability to throw with greater velocity, accuracy, and control.

Give the pitchers eight warm-ups in the first inning that they're throwing. After that, limit it to four or five. By rule, they have a minute, but timing them can be seen as being too controlling. If the pitcher and catcher are slow to come out, start dropping warm-up pitches.

A pitcher may pitch one game each day in an unlimited number of innings. If he pitches in more than one game during a day, he will be limited to a total of ten innings each day. It is strongly recommended that a player who has pitched a full game the previous day not be used as a pitcher the following day.

6-1-1 The pitcher shall pitch while facing the batter from either a windup position (6-1-2) or a set position (6-1-3). The position of his feet determine whether he will pitch from the windup or the set position.

A pitcher shall not wear any item on his hands, wrists or arms which may be distracting to the batter. A pitcher shall not wear white or gray exposed under-shirt sleeves or any white or gray sleeve that extends below the elbow. A vest and coordinating shirt that is worn underneath is viewed as a type of uniform top.

Why are donuts illegal in Little League? ›

However, long-term use of batting doughnuts increases upper body strength therefore increasing bat velocity. For safety reasons, some leagues have begun to prohibit the use of baseball doughnuts. In 2012 Little League revised their Senior League rules to prohibit the use of "traditional batting donuts".

Pitchers are allowed two disengagements per plate appearance without penalty. The disengagements rule resets if a runner or runners advance a base within the same plate appearance.

If no runners are on base and the pitcher commits an otherwise balkable action, there generally is no penalty. However, delivering a quick return or pitching while off the rubber (which constitute balks when runners are on base) results in a ball being called with the bases empty.

A starting pitcher in professional baseball usually rests three, four, or five days after pitching a game before pitching in another. Therefore, most professional baseball teams have four, five or six starting pitchers on their rosters.

The starting pitcher also makes their final pregame warm-up throws in the bullpen. Managers can call coaches in the bullpen on an in-house telephone from the dugout to tell a certain pitcher to begin their warm-up tosses.