Can some baseball nut answer me two questions:

1) A batter is up, takes some balls and strikes...but b/4 he is called out, a runner on base gets picked off so the inning is over; then that same batter comes up the next inning. Do those pitches count in his stats ? Does it count as a seperate 'At Bat' ? I'm confused.

2) What's a "walk off" home run ?

Hello osufan,
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If I may sit in the ump's chair (or at his keyboard, whatever analogy you prefer):

1. What happens to the batter when a baserunner is picked off or thrown out stealing to end an inning? The batter did not "complete" his at bat. He is not charged with an at-bat for the previous inning and he will be the first batter up in the new inning. New inning: fresh balls and strikes count.

2. "Walk off homer" is a relatively new term (as baseball terminology goes)-- it just refers to a home run that ends the game completely. After the ball is hit, the players just "walk off" the field. So it can only be hit by the home team in the bottom of the 9th inning, or beyond. It's a bit of a misnomer, as the actual winning run must cross home plate before the actual "walking off" can occur. (I've actually seen a major league game where a player hit a home run, but was called out because he passed the slow-moving baserunner on 1st, so he never scored.) With so many games being played like home run derby, nothing more than glorified home run hitting contests,it has become A LOT more common in the last few years for games to be decided on "walk off" home runs.

[ May 25, 2002: Message edited by: Charlie in the Trees ]

What about the pitcher's stats? If the At Bat doesn't count, and those balls and strikes don't count against the batter... what about the pitcher? Do those pitches count in his Pitch Count?

In the case of a game that is Rained Out (before the 4th or 5th inning... or whatever it is before the game is "official"), are all the stats from that "non-game" eliminated? Is the pitcher(s) not credited with a Start or Appearance?

In this day an age where stats are kept for everything (pitches taken, balls taken, strikes taken, strikes swung at, batting average in day games/night games, batting average on turf/natural grass, batting average with roofs open/closed, etc. etc.), I'm wondering if stats are kept of these "phantom" At Bats.