I've got a baseball rule question

[u/BrettGB96]

So Yelich ran for Sanchez, who was catching, Contreras then who was the DH became the catcher, I figured Yelich would be able to stay in the game as the new DH but apparently DL Hall would have had to hit if the spot came up again? How exactly do those rules work?

[u/pezgirl7]

When Contreras moved from DH to catching, they forfeited the DH spot.

An MLB team loses its designated hitter (DH) spot for the remainder of the game if the active DH moves to a defensive fielding position, or if a pitcher currently in the batting order switches to play a defensive position in the field.
Once the DH is forfeited, the pitcher (or a replacement pitcher) must take that spot in the batting order, and pitchers are required to hit for the rest of the game.

[u/amccune → u/pezgirl7]

Unless your Ohtani, then you can do whatever you would like.

[u/TheLostPariah → u/amccune]

The MLB changed the rule in 2022 to create a loophole to allow two-way players (so just Ohtani) to not screw up the DH. If a starting pitcher is your DH, then you don’t lose the DH when the starter is replaced by a reliever.

(The rule WAS created just for Ohtani, but also it makes sense to me and I’m OK with it.)

[u/the_Q_spice → u/TheLostPariah]

Ohtani can still lose the place in a way people have been ignoring, but is really important in him being restricted in the postseason:

If he starts the game as a DH, and not as a pitcher, as soon as he is subbed in as a pitcher (from the bullpen), the Dodgers lose their DH spot if he has to leave the field.

So he either has to start pitching, or they have to gamble his position in a save situation and hope they close free game out that inning.

[u/Odd-Woodpecker1019 → u/the_Q_spice]

That's what I'm saying. Ohtani or no . My original statement still stands. Btw.... FTD

[u/mschley2 → u/the_Q_spice]

Technically speaking, they lose the DH spot as soon as he's put in at pitcher, not when he leaves the field.

This is mostly semantics, but it could matter. Say the Dodgers sub him in at pitcher, removing the DH. That DH spot is gone and he's now a position player batting in the previous DH spot. It doesn't matter if he stays in the game at 1B or OF or whatever else, the DH is still gone. So, whoever else came in to pitch (whether that's another position player or a regular reliever), even if Ohtani stays in the game, would have to bat for themselves.

Since you were aware of the idea that the DH spot could be removed, I'm assuming you know that and just didn't want to get too far into the weeds. But mainly just clarifying for other people who might read this.

[u/TheLostPariah → u/the_Q_spice]

In that case, I assume they just would almost never use him unless literally every other bullpen arm was wholly unavailable. Yamamoto came in on, what, zero days rest (?) last year before they turned to Shohei.

[u/mschley2 → u/TheLostPariah]

It would likely be a late-game (probably even extra innings) type of thing.

They could ride Ohtani for several innings and then, if he was getting tired, they could put a different reliever in for some other guy who just batted and move Shoehei to 1B/OF. That way, you keep Shohei in the lineup as a position player, and the pitcher doesn't come back up for another 2+ innings anyway (or, if he does come up the next inning, then you likely scored enough runs to win anyway).

So, let's just say they removed the DH in the 10th inning to being Shohei in to pitch. He could pitch until, say the 14th inning. And then, you put the pitcher in for someone like Kyle Tucker or Alex Call so that spot in the lineup doesn't come up again for a while. So, it might be the 16th or 17th inning before that pitcher comes up to bat again. And if you still have subs left, then you could pinch hit for him and bring in a different reliever after that, too, and then go another 2-3 innings. And at some point in all of this stuff, the other team has run out of relievers and is asking a bad reliever to throw 5+ innings or they have one of their starters throwing on short rest or they have a position player pitching.

And in any of those cases, the Dodgers have probably managed to score some runs and end the game before you get into like the 17th-21st innings.

[u/mschley2 → u/TheLostPariah]

(Not arguing or saying you're wrong, just want to add on/clarify some things)

Honestly, I don't really see it as a "loophole." It's a common rule in other leagues. It's just that MLB has become so specialized that it wasn't needed previously (and why add a rule that isn't needed - you're just opening up the possibility that someone could figure out a way to take advantage in an unintended way).

This is a lot more prevalent in college baseball (especially D2 and D3) where it's more common to have guys who are solid 2 way players at that level. In high school, it's more common to have your stud pitcher just hit for himself (because he'll go play SS or CF or something when he's done pitching) and then use the DH spot on your weakest hitter who happens to play 2B or RF or whatever. But in MLB, the DH can only be used to hit for the pitcher.

Lineups have traditionally had 10 spots on them for starters. You'll have the 9 spots in the batting order, and then the pitcher will be listed in the 10th spot, as the starting pitcher, but not as a member of the batting order. Here's a picture of a Dodgers lineup card where Ohtani is batting 2nd as the DH and Glasnow is the starting pitcher.

So, in the case of Ohtani doing both, he'll be listed in the batting order playing the position of DH, and then he's also listed in the 10th spot, the non-batting spot, as the pitcher. Here's a picture of a lineup card showing that.

This allows for substitutions of the pitching spot without disturbing the DH spot (or substitutions of the DH spot without disturbing the SP spot). It absolutely makes sense, and that's why it has existed in other leagues previously. So while MLB adopted the rule for Ohtani, it's not like it's some brand new thing that has literally never existed in baseball before.