In
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
, a
wild pitch (abbreviated
WP) is charged against a
pitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter who attempts to either make contact with it or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is...
when his
pitchIn baseball, a pitch is the act of throwing a baseball toward home plate to start a play. The term comes from the Knickerbocker Rules. Originally, the ball had to be literally "pitched" underhand, as with pitching horseshoes. Overhead throwing was not allowed until 1884.The biomechanics of...
is too high, too short, or too wide of
home plateHome Plate is the fifth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1975 .-Track listing:#"What Do You Want the Boy to Do?" – 3:19#"Good Enough" – 2:56#"Run Like a Thief" – 3:02...
for the
catcherCatcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order...
to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, perhaps even the batter-runner on strike three or
ball fourA base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
, to advance.
A wild pitch usually passes the catcher behind home plate, often allowing runners on base an easy chance to advance while the catcher chases the ball down.
In
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
, a
wild pitch (abbreviated
WP) is charged against a
pitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter who attempts to either make contact with it or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is...
when his
pitchIn baseball, a pitch is the act of throwing a baseball toward home plate to start a play. The term comes from the Knickerbocker Rules. Originally, the ball had to be literally "pitched" underhand, as with pitching horseshoes. Overhead throwing was not allowed until 1884.The biomechanics of...
is too high, too short, or too wide of
home plateHome Plate is the fifth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1975 .-Track listing:#"What Do You Want the Boy to Do?" – 3:19#"Good Enough" – 2:56#"Run Like a Thief" – 3:02...
for the
catcherCatcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order...
to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, perhaps even the batter-runner on strike three or
ball fourA base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
, to advance.
A wild pitch usually passes the catcher behind home plate, often allowing runners on base an easy chance to advance while the catcher chases the ball down. Sometimes the catcher may block a pitch, and the ball may be nearby, but have trouble finding the ball, allowing runners to advance.
A closely related statistic is the
passed ballIn baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control. When, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or the runner on base advance, the catcher is thereby charged...
. As with many
baseball statisticsStatistics play an important role in summarizing baseball performance and evaluating players in the sport.Dialog from the 1998 Kevin Costner motion picture For Love of the Game may epitomize the place of statistics in the minds of baseball players, reporters and fans:Jane Aubrey: Do you lose very...
, whether a pitch that gets away from a catcher is counted as a wild pitch or a passed ball is at the discretion of the
official scorerIn the game of baseball, the official scorer is a person appointed by the league to record the events on the field, and to send this official record of the game back to the league offices...
. The benefit of the doubt is usually given to the catcher if there is uncertainty; therefore, most of these situations are scored as wild pitches. If the pitch was so low as to touch the ground, or so high that the catcher has to jump to get to it, or so wide that the catcher has to lunge for it, it is usually then considered a wild pitch and not a passed ball.
A wild pitch may only be scored if one or more runners advance. If the bases are empty, or the catcher retrieves the ball quickly and the runner(s) are unable to advance, a wild pitch is not charged. A runner who advances on a wild pitch is not credited with a
stolen baseIn baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate. In baseball statistics, stolen bases are denoted by SB...
unless he breaks before the pitcher begins his delivery.
A wild pitch is not counted as an error, and
is accountable to the pitcher when discerning
earned runIn baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...
s (whereas a passed ball is not).
Nolan RyanLynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher and current president of the Texas Rangers....
is the modern-era leader in the category, throwing 277 wild pitches over his 27 years in
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
. He also led his
leagueLeague is a term commonly used to describe a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on weekends; at its most complex, it can be an...
in the category in six different seasons. However, the all-time record belongs to
Tony MullaneAnthony John "Tony" Mullane , nickamed "Count" and "The Apollo of the Box", was an Irish Major League Baseball player who pitched for seven teams during his 13 season career...
, who threw 343 in the early years of the game from 1881 to 1894. After Ryan's 277, the next pitcher on the list is
Mickey WelchMichael Francis Welch Born as Michael Francis Walsh was a 19th century Major League Baseball starting pitcher. He was the third big league pitcher to accumulate 300 career victories...
274, followed by
Tim KeefeTimothy John "Tim" Keefe was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was one of the most dominating pitchers of the 19th century and posted impressive statistics in one category or another for almost every season he pitched...
's 233.
Bill Stemmyer still holds the single-season record, throwing 63 wild pitches in 1886. Since 1900, however, the highest total in a season has been 30 (by
Red AmesLeon Kessling "Red" Ames was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball for the New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, and Philadelphia Phillies.-Major league career:...
in 1905). The modern record in a single game is 6, held by three different pitchers.
R.A. Dickey,
Phil NiekroPhilip Henry Niekro is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997....
,
Walter JohnsonWalter Perry Johnson , nicknamed "The Big Train," was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between 1907 and 1927...
, and
Kevin GreggKevin Marschall Gregg is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.-High school career:Gregg attended Corvallis High School in Corvallis, Oregon, and starred in football, basketball, and baseball....
all hold the modern-era single inning wild pitch record with four.
Rick AnkielRichard Alexander Ankiel is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals.Ankiel began his career in the majors as a starting pitcher, posting a solid rookie season in 2000 with 11 wins, 7 losses, and 194 strikeouts, but during the playoffs that year, he suddenly found himself...
, however, has produced five wild pitches in the 3rd inning of the 2000 NLDS.
Bert CunninghamEllsworth Elmer "Bert" Cunningham , is a former professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1887-1901...
of the Players League (Considered a major league) in 1890 also threw 5 in an inning.