Relief pitcher comes in and walks the first batter he faces.

[Natty]

This bothers me. 

Yesterday Baumann comes in and walks the first batter he faces. 

How many times did this happen to us last year? It seems like this happens all the time to us.

Am I the only one who just can't accept this? 

If I were manager we would have a rule for relievers. You come in and walk the first guy, you are done today. 

I know that's not feasible with our bullpen.

Am I the only one who hates to see this happen? 

Sorry for my rant.

 

[Say O!]

Just FYI, Rules state a pitcher must face minimum 3 batters unless complete an inning.

the issue on Thurs with Baumann was choice of pitches and sequencing. Not sure why Adley called for multiple offspeed and Baumann did not shake off after he blew 99mph heater past Hicks. Palmer pointed this out on broadcast.

Agree with your meta point on relievers issuing walks. Both Baumann and Akin pounded the strike zone in spring training, we’ll see how that plays out in regular season.  The only guy I really worry about is Perez, but he’s always going to be a mixed bag of wildness offset by nasty stuff, usually in the same outing. 

Edited March 30 by Say O!

[Winter]

rules eliminate the possibility of them to be done for the day after walking the 1st batter they face. -- tho yes its annoying

[Oriole1940]

3 hours ago, Natty said:

This bothers me. 

Yesterday Baumann comes in and walks the first batter he faces. 

How many times did this happen to us last year? It seems like this happens all the time to us.

Am I the only one who just can't accept this? 

If I were manager we would have a rule for relievers. You come in and walk the first guy, you are done today. 

I know that's not feasible with our bullpen.

Am I the only one who hates to see this happen? 

Sorry for my rant.

 

I do not like it because though we are winning by big margins, that will not always be the case and it is a terrible habit to get into.  It tells  me that the pitchers are very careless and are not bearing down like they should.

[Natty]

Webb just came in and walked the first batter he faced.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

On 3/30/2024 at 3:36 PM, Natty said:

This bothers me. 

Yesterday Baumann comes in and walks the first batter he faces. 

How many times did this happen to us last year? It seems like this happens all the time to us.

Am I the only one who just can't accept this? 

If I were manager we would have a rule for relievers. You come in and walk the first guy, you are done today. 

I know that's not feasible with our bullpen.

Am I the only one who hates to see this happen? 

Sorry for my rant.

 

Baumann battled through yesterday when he wasn't expected to pitch. My concern was Baumann wouldn't be able to close the game out, but he did. Now if Baumann continues to walk the first batter then it's something to be concerned about.

[Otter]

On 3/30/2024 at 1:36 PM, Natty said:

This bothers me. 

Yesterday Baumann comes in and walks the first batter he faces. 

How many times did this happen to us last year? It seems like this happens all the time to us.

Am I the only one who just can't accept this? 

If I were manager we would have a rule for relievers. You come in and walk the first guy, you are done today. 

I know that's not feasible with our bullpen.

Am I the only one who hates to see this happen? 

Sorry for my rant.

 

Do you think the pitchers are trying to walk batters?  Do you think a silly rule will stop them from walking batters?

[Frobby]

Here’s the number of times our relievers walked the first batter last year:

Baker 7/46

Fujinami 5/30

Baumann 5/60

Bautista 4/56

Perez 4/65

Webb 4/25

Voth 4/25

Gillaspie 3/11

Coulombe 2/61

Cano 2/72

Givens 2/6

Vespi 1/9

Hall 1/18

Akin 1/24

Overall, that’s 45/508, or 8.9%.  The overall walk rate in MLB is 8.6%.  The leaguewide rate of walking the first battter (all pitchers, not just relievers) is 9.0%.   

In other words, it’s frustrating, but it happens frequently all over MLB.  
 

[Moose Milligan]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Here’s the number of times our relievers walked the first batter last year:

Baker 7/46

Fujinami 5/30

Baumann 5/60

Bautista 4/56

Perez 4/65

Webb 4/25

Voth 4/25

Gillaspie 3/11

Coulombe 2/61

Cano 2/72

Givens 2/6

Vespi 1/9

Hall 1/18

Akin 1/24

Overall, that’s 45/508, or 8.9%.  The overall walk rate in MLB is 8.6%.  The leaguewide rate of walking the first battter (all pitchers, not just relievers) is 9.0%.   

In other words, it’s frustrating, but it happens frequently all over MLB.  
 

What a levelheaded and insightful post. 

[Satyr3206]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Here’s the number of times our relievers walked the first batter last year:

Baker 7/46

Fujinami 5/30

Baumann 5/60

Bautista 4/56

Perez 4/65

Webb 4/25

Voth 4/25

Gillaspie 3/11

Coulombe 2/61

Cano 2/72

Givens 2/6

Vespi 1/9

Hall 1/18

Akin 1/24

Overall, that’s 45/508, or 8.9%.  The overall walk rate in MLB is 8.6%.  The leaguewide rate of walking the first battter (all pitchers, not just relievers) is 9.0%.   

In other words, it’s frustrating, but it happens frequently all over MLB.  
 

Back in the dark days of the O's it was a lot worse.

[Frobby]

For me, the surprises on that list were Baumann (5/60) and Perez (4/65), both below league average.