Technique and Usage
When pitching an intentional ball, the pitcher will generally throw to an area several feet outside the plate, where it would be physically impossible for the batter to hit the ball. The pitcher still has to be careful that he doesn't allow runners to advance via a balk or a wild pitch. In addition, the batter can choose to swing at an intentional ball, although this almost never occurs since it is rarely to the batter's advantage. A swing at an intentional ball resulting in a hit occurred during a June 22, 2006 game between the Florida Marlins and the Baltimore Orioles. The Marlins' Miguel Cabrera hit an intentional ball thrown by Todd Williams during the 10th inning resulting in a run scored for the Marlins. Outside the professional leagues however, such as in high school or college baseball but not Little League Baseball, the manager may simply ask the plate umpire to let the batter go to first instead of having the pitcher waste four outside pitches.
Read more about this topic: Intentional Base On Balls
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