Dave Roberts must have missed the memo on this one.
The Los Angeles Dodgers manager was blocked from using a position player to pitch the ninth inning of Saturday’s 9-4 loss to the New York Mets due to a rule Roberts did not know existed.
Roberts attempted to pitch utility player Zach McKinstry to record the final three outs of the ninth inning in the five-run game after exhausting six pitchers, but crew chief C.B. Bucknor ruled McKinstry could not pitch because there was not a difference in score of at least six runs.
The rule was agreed upon between MLB and the MLBPA prior to the 2020 season (unless the player was designated as a two-way player, a la Shohei Ohtani) but had not been enforced that season or in 2021 due to concern about player health and safety amid the pandemic.
It is being enforced this season, though, and Roberts owned up to the mistake after the game.
“It’s a rule that obviously is in place for 2022. They were talking about it in 2020,” he said, per The AP. “The goalposts have been moving a lot. It’s an oversight on my part, but I do recall that we did it last year. They kind of had to confer to make sure that it was the case. They got it right, the umpires.”
Roberts instead moved McKinstry to third base and called on Evan Phillips to record the final three outs of the inning after a 10-plus minute delay.
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