Oakland Athletics pitcher Chad Smith had a night to remember on Wednesday, as he earned his first major league win in a bizarre fashion. Smith, who was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas earlier in the day, entered the game in the eighth inning with the A’s trailing the Texas Rangers 4-3. He faced only one batter, striking out Adolis Garcia on three pitches.
However, in the bottom of the eighth, the A’s rallied for four runs to take a 7-4 lead. Smith was replaced by Lou Trivino, who pitched a scoreless ninth to seal the victory. Normally, Trivino would have been credited with the win, as he was the pitcher of record when the A’s took the lead. But in this case, the official scorer applied an obscure rule that gave Smith the win instead.
According to Rule 9.17(c) of the MLB rulebook, “The official scorer shall not credit as the winning pitcher a relief pitcher who is ineffective in a brief appearance, when at least one succeeding relief pitcher pitches effectively in helping his team maintain its lead. In such a case, the official scorer shall credit as the winning pitcher the succeeding relief pitcher who was most effective, in the judgment of the official scorer.”
The rule is meant to prevent a pitcher from getting an undeserved win by pitching poorly and then being bailed out by his teammates. For example, if a reliever enters a tie game and allows three runs in one inning, and then his team scores four runs in the next inning, he would not get the win under this rule. Instead, the win would go to the next reliever who pitches effectively.
Final Thoughts: The Obscure Rule That Gave Chad Smith His First Win
Chad Smith’s first major league win came in a bizarre fashion that involved an obscure rule in the MLB rulebook. The rule, known as 9.17(c), is designed to prevent a reliever from getting an undeserved win by pitching poorly and then being bailed out by his teammates. Instead, the official scorer is instructed to credit the win to the succeeding relief pitcher who was most effective in helping his team maintain its lead.
In Smith’s case, he faced only one batter and struck him out, but the A’s did not take the lead until after he had been replaced. Under normal circumstances, the win would have gone to the pitcher of record when the A’s took the lead, which in this case was Lou Trivino.
However, because Smith’s brief appearance was deemed effective, and Trivino’s was not deemed more effective, Smith was credited with the win instead.
While the rule may seem obscure, it serves an important purpose in ensuring that wins are awarded fairly and accurately. It prevents a reliever from being rewarded for a poor performance and puts the emphasis on the most effective reliever in maintaining the lead.
Overall, while the application of the rule may have seemed unusual, it was ultimately a fair decision that recognized the effectiveness of Chad Smith’s brief appearance on the mound.
