GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
Why can a runner advance on a pitch without the pitcher being charged a wild pitch?
Because the official scorer may charge a passed ball to the catcher instead. A wild pitch is a legally delivered ball the catcher could not stop or control with ordinary effort; a passed ball is a legally pitched ball the catcher should have held or controlled with ordinary effort.
For Bettors and cappers learning to read baseball records · Updated
The runner’s destination does not decide the charge
Both records can accompany a runner moving up, but the official scorer assigns responsibility from the play. Rule 9.13 charges a wild pitch when a legally delivered ball is sufficiently high, wide or low, or hits the ground before reaching the catcher, and the runner advances. A passed ball is charged when the catcher fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that should have been handled with ordinary effort.
A runner reaching second does not, by itself, tell you whether the pitcher or catcher receives the statistic.
Use the scorer’s judgment and the rule
The scorer evaluates the pitch, the catcher’s attempt and whether a runner advanced. If the defense retires the runner before anyone advances, Rule 9.13 says the play is not charged as a wild pitch or passed ball. Do not relabel every loose pitch from the runner’s final base alone.
Two fictional plays with the same advance
Hypothetical play A: a legal pitch bounces well in front of home plate, skips past the catcher and lets a runner move from first to second. The scorer may charge a wild pitch under Rule 9.13. Hypothetical play B: a legal pitch reaches the catcher in a position the scorer judges should have been held with ordinary effort, but the catcher fails to control it and the same runner reaches second; the scorer may charge a passed ball. The same destination can follow different recorded events.
Related questions
Is every runner advance on an uncaught pitch a wild pitch?
No. The scorer distinguishes a wild pitch from a passed ball using the pitch and the catcher’s ordinary-effort judgment.