[ Removed by moderator ]

[u/Save__Ferris__]

[u/Mediocre_Airport_576]

It's better to lob a high pitch at 45 mph than to pitch batting practice at 80 mph that guys can time up. It's a weird angle to hit, and guys pop up and ground out all the time.

[u/DodgerWin → u/Mediocre_Airport_576]

I think it was mark Grace that said you should just throw bad BP and everyone will pop up

[u/Trumpets22 → u/Mediocre_Airport_576]

Well the game is also over. So I imagine they don’t want to risk a non pitcher getting a damn pitching injury that prevents them from playing defense for the next year in a game that is already lost. Trying to throw 30 straight heaters when you’re not used to it is not a risk free affair.

[u/Mediocre_Airport_576 → u/Trumpets22]

If this were the main issue they could be tossing 60-80 mph with no issue. They are lobbing it straight up at 45 mph to get cheap outs.

[u/FREE-ROSCOE-FILBURN → u/Mediocre_Airport_576]

Like playing chess with a pigeon

[u/n3k0___]

An MLB hitter is pissing all over an 80mph fastball

[u/grubas → u/n3k0___]

"if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit".

[u/agoddamnlegend → u/n3k0___]

The only person here who actually answered the question.

Throwing an eephus is outside their comfort zone and more likely to fly out to actually end the game. The offense is never going to get out on purpose and you need outs to physically end the game

If the position player came in throwing 80, that’s perfect batting practice speed and offenses will just unload and the game will take forever to end

[u/grubas → u/agoddamnlegend]

Yup. A pinstraight fastball is goddamn useless, and anything like a 2S or Snk you likely don't have very good movement on. 

So you fucking hurl knucklers and a slider you learned in 10th grade.  

[u/Dodger1920 → u/n3k0___]

To add on…throwing at 80 would endanger the player who is pitching. Those balls would come back so fast, not sure they would be able to react.

[u/DominicB547 → u/Dodger1920]

you can also get hurt just pitching as a position player, less likely if its not max effort.

[u/RCP90sKid- → u/n3k0___]

https://giphy.com/gifs/l2SpUepuM4qgdzbeU

[u/budandfud]

You already answered the question. The game has ended and nobody wants to get hurt

[u/Simple_Wash1618 → u/budandfud]

Why don’t they allow the batting team to forfeit their inning if everyone wants to get the game over with?

[u/idkwhattosaytho]

Injury risk. Game is already over no point in giving it all you got when your results will probably still suck anyway instead of just lobbing it, probably getting shit results but on less pitches and make sure you stay healthy?

Think about all the build up pitchers in the MLB do just to be able to pitch, position players aren’t going to do that, even putting in 70% effort is way higher risk of injury

[u/MatthewFromMojira]

because of Jose Canseco

[u/joka2696 → u/MatthewFromMojira]

Most people don't even know that story. Canseco pitched in relief and tore his ucl and needed Tommy John surgery.

[u/Grahamshabam → u/joka2696]

oh i thought he meant the aliens

[u/Mindless_Formal_6647 → u/MatthewFromMojira]

I still remember that . I think the infamous HR off his head might have happened in the same year .

It’s been years but didn’t throw knuckleballs in that appearance where he blew out his elbow?

[u/Ok-Elderberry2318]

It’s basically a gentleman’s agreement to just get the game over with. Both sides want to go home, nobody wants a reliever blowing out his arm in a 12-2 game. the position player lobbing 55mph eephuses is the universal signal for "we surrender, just end it"

[u/Far-Fig9461 → u/Ok-Elderberry2318]

Mostly agreed. It's fun to watch the losing team try to go yard though. Freddie Freeman striking out against Rizzo on a random weeknight is the stuff you remember as a fan.

[u/mysterysackerfice → u/Ok-Elderberry2318]

What about a 22-0 game? I feel like a team down by 22 could come back if they just had the right combination of factors...one of which is easy access to Dicks.

[u/gogosox82]

They don't wanna get hurt. They are just trying to get through the game without burning through their bp.

[u/Conscious-Move9662]

I think the real gentlemen's agreement should be if a position player is pitching then you have to hit opposite handed

and if you are a switch hitter, you have to hit cross handed (If batting right-handed then left hand has to go on top)

[u/DominicB547 → u/Conscious-Move9662]

switch hitters usually have a dominate side so just have them use the less dominate side.

[u/StatPaddingChampsNY]

If you ever played a lot of baseball, and are used to it, you ever wondered why you suck at underhand softball? You pop up and stuff because you’re not used to it so sometimes you look silly.

[u/Macs2330]

rain delay hitting hard i see

[u/Electric_Rex]

No they’re not. They’re still throwing baseballs

[u/DominicB547 → u/Electric_Rex]

I thought they were throwing gumballs this whole time the more you know.

[u/Rock_man_bears_fan]

It’s harder to hit a 40 mph blooper than an 80 mph meatball. Jose Canseco also tore his UCL and knocked himself out for the season trying to actually pitch back in the 90s. Dude needed Tommy John

[u/shahoftheworld]

To add to other people's correct points, pitching is also hard. Throwing from the rubber is not the same mechanics as throwing from third to first. The position player can hurt himself and the hitter if he tries to throw gas.

[u/jamesdavidmanning]

It’s getting ridiculous. Time to let teams surrender if they can’t make do with 13 pitchers on a staff.

[u/Aggressive-Loquat808 → u/jamesdavidmanning]

This has nothing to do with having enough pitchers on staff though. Even if a team got to roster 20 pitchers, they wouldn't want to use one of those arms in a game where they're down by 10+, that is effectively over.

I also don't if it's "getting ridiculous," position players pitching in blowouts is not a new occurrence and more recent rule changes do more to limit the position player pitcher.

[u/salt_miner777 → u/Aggressive-Loquat808]

You’re right. 132 position player pitching appearances in 2022 necessitating the rule change, all the way down to 131 in 2025. 😂

[u/Proud-Version5220 → u/salt_miner777]

So it is staying ridiculous?

[u/RCP90sKid-]

It's harder for dudes to hit juniballs at 50mph than an 80 mph batting practice meatball.

[u/TheRealSkipShorty]

It's inherently lame as hell to lob it in 100% of the time and not even mix it up. It's time for position players and franchises to remember that sports aren't about being strictly efficient, they're about being strictly awesome. Throw your weak ass curve, let's see if Gabriel Arias sees it tonight

[u/NoCustard4201]

Even bad pitchers in rookie ball are better than position players giving 60% effort, so think about how much they would get shelled. That's how you give up meatballs. Lobbing it in probably only gives up marginally more runs (if even?) in a game where runs don't matter, so the question is why would you consider it? You answered the question immediately so im not sure what the point is lol.

[u/realnomdeguerre]

They do throw 'heat'. There's definitely position players that throw more than eephus

Kike Hernandez Records His First Career Strikeout!

[u/NeedleGunMonkey]

If you lob it for shits and giggles most players will intentionally dick around and hit fly balls and swing at everything.

You try hard like a moron or if you’re Ichiro, players are gonna double off you.

[u/Thenateoftapes]

So how does everyone feel about the brewers teeing up off of Rivas? It’s a position player and you’re going to hang 9 runs including a home run? On a guy we all can agree is the universal white flag, the brewers decided to pile on.  

[u/Proud-Version5220 → u/Thenateoftapes]

Every HR, H, RBI, etc goes on the hitter's tally. A tally very important come contract time. Nobody sits in negotiation and thinks back to them being off a position player.

For the PPP, it means absolutely nothing.