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8/31/1920 – The Giants played in Pittsburgh and had one batter at the plate at the wrong time. Larry Doyle, batting in the seventh spot in the lineup, ended the seventh inning. In the bottom half of that frame the Pirates scored six times to pull ahead of New York, 6-5, for the eventual winning margin. The last two runs scored on a dropped fly ball. In the top of the eighth inning, fifth-place batter George Kelly started the inning with a single. The Bucs pointed out the fact that he was not the proper batter and Earl Smith was declared out.

ByTom

8/31/1920 – The Giants played in Pittsburgh and had one batter at the plate at the wrong time. Larry Doyle, batting in the seventh spot in the lineup, ended the seventh inning. In the bottom half of that frame the Pirates scored six times to pull ahead of New York, 6-5, for the eventual winning margin. The last two runs scored on a dropped fly ball. In the top of the eighth inning, fifth-place batter George Kelly started the inning with a single. The Bucs pointed out the fact that he was not the proper batter and Earl Smith was declared out.

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The Dodgers were playing a doubleheader against the Giants at the Polo Grounds. In the bottom of the seventh inning of game 1, Lew McCarty pinch hit for Jesse Winters in the ninth place in the batting order and singled. Al Lefevre ran for McCarty and stayed in the game playing second base. The new pitcher, Bill Hubbell, entered the game in the seventh spot in the lineup. In the ninth inning, Lefevre, actually in the ninth spot, batted in the seventh spot out of order but struck out. Frank Snyder, the eighth-place hitter, then came to the plate out of order and grounded out. The next hitter should be Lefevre in the ninth-hole in the order. Benny Kauff was sent up to pinch hit for Hubbell even though it was not his turn to bat. Kauff cannot be considered as batting out of order since he is a pinch hitter. Officially, he is hitting for Lefevre not Hubbell. Kauff singled in a run but none of this matters as the Dodgers beat the Giants, 7-3.

ByTom

6/30/1920 – The Dodgers were playing a doubleheader against the Giants at the Polo Grounds. In the bottom of the seventh inning of game 1, Lew McCarty pinch hit for Jesse Winters in the ninth place in the batting order and singled. Al Lefevre ran for McCarty and stayed in the game playing second base. The new pitcher, Bill Hubbell, entered the game in the seventh spot in the lineup. In the ninth inning, Lefevre, actually in the ninth spot, batted in the seventh spot out of order but struck out. Frank Snyder, the eighth-place hitter, then came to the plate out of order and grounded out. The next hitter should be Lefevre in the ninth-hole in the order. Benny Kauff was sent up to pinch hit for Hubbell even though it was not his turn to bat. Kauff cannot be considered as batting out of order since he is a pinch hitter. Officially, he is hitting for Lefevre not Hubbell. Kauff singled in a run but none of this matters as the Dodgers beat the Giants, 7-3.

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6/28/1919 – The Cardinals played in Chicago, losing to the Cubs, 6-5. In the contest, the Redbirds batted out of order for the first eight innings, only correcting the mistake in the ninth. The batting order, as given to umpire Bill Klem, showed Doc Lavan batting seventh and Frank Snyder batting eighth. However, the two players batted in the opposite order starting in the second inning, when the Cardinals scored two runs. Those tallies would not have counted if the Cubs had spoken up about the miscue. Since St. Louis manager Branch Rickey changed the batting order for this game, neither the Cardinals players nor the Cubs realized that the two players were out of order. Lavan came to the plate in the ninth in his proper spot (for the first time in the game) and the Cubs protested that he was out of order when he was actually in order for the first time in the contest!

ByTom

6/28/1919 – The Cardinals played in Chicago, losing to the Cubs, 6-5. In the contest, the Redbirds batted out of order for the first eight innings, only correcting the mistake in the ninth. The batting order, as given to umpire Bill Klem, showed Doc Lavan batting seventh and Frank Snyder batting eighth. However, the two players batted in the opposite order starting in the second inning, when the Cardinals scored two runs. Those tallies would not have counted if the Cubs had spoken up about the miscue. Since St. Louis manager Branch Rickey changed the batting order for this game, neither the Cardinals players nor the Cubs realized that the two players were out of order. Lavan came to the plate in the ninth in his proper spot (for the first time in the game) and the Cubs protested that he was out of order when he was actually in order for the first time in the contest!

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10/3/1917 – In the first game of a double header at Philadelphia, Art Fletcher of the Giants, who was sixth in the batting order doubled in the top of the second (or possibly in the top of the fifth according to a second newspaper) when Dave Robertson should have hit. The hit was negated, but Fletcher managed to double twice in the game even without the one that was nullified. Perhaps due to the improper at bat, the box score for the game is not correct as it shows Fletcher with 6 AB, one too many, and the lead off hitter, George Burns with one too few.

ByTom

10/3/1917 – In the first game of a double header at Philadelphia, Art Fletcher of the Giants, who was sixth in the batting order doubled in the top of the second (or possibly in the top of the fifth according to a second newspaper) when Dave Robertson should have hit. The hit was negated, but Fletcher managed to double twice in the game even without the one that was nullified. Perhaps due to the improper at bat, the box score for the game is not correct as it shows Fletcher with 6 AB, one too many, and the lead off hitter, George Burns with one too few.

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7/9/1917 – In the top of the first inning in St. Louis, Yankees second baseman Paddy Bauman was hit by a pitch. The Browns appealed that Bauman had batted out of turn and the proper batter, Elmer Miller, was declared out.

ByTom

7/9/1917 – In the top of the first inning in St. Louis, Yankees second baseman Paddy Bauman was hit by a pitch. The Browns appealed that Bauman had batted out of turn and the proper batter, Elmer Miller, was declared out.

Lew McCarty bats out of order when a double switch isnt properly pulled off

ByTom

4/12/1917 – In the top of the fourth, Lew McCarty pinch hit for the pitcher in the number nine spot in the order and tripled to drive in two runs as part of a six-run inning. In the bottom of the inning, he stayed in the game as the catcher replacing Bill Rariden who was hitting in the eighth spot. This was not a real “double switch,” so the new pitcher should have batted in the number eight slot. In the sixth, McCarty hit out-of- order in the number eight position and singled. Boston pointed this out to the home plate umpire, and Slim Sallee, the new pitcher who should have been batting was called out.

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9/14/1916 – The Red Sox lineup had been Duffy Lewis hitting fifth, Everett Scott hitting sixth and Mike McNally seventh. However, this day, McNally was listed ahead of Scott on the lineup card presented to umpire Bill Dineen. In the top of the second inning, Scott and McNally reversed places without comment but, in the fourth frame, Lewis singled, then after Scott made an out, McNally singled to send Lewis to third base. The St. Louis Browns pointed out that McNally was out of turn and umpire Bill Dineen called McNally out.

ByTom

9/14/1916 – The Red Sox lineup had been Duffy Lewis hitting fifth, Everett Scott hitting sixth and Mike McNally seventh. However, this day, McNally was listed ahead of Scott on the lineup card presented to umpire Bill Dineen. In the top of the second inning, Scott and McNally reversed places without comment but, in the fourth frame, Lewis singled, then after Scott made an out, McNally singled to send Lewis to third base. The St. Louis Browns pointed out that McNally was out of turn and umpire Bill Dineen called McNally out.

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9/25/1915 – The Pirates had catcher George Gibson batting eighth and the pitcher ninth in their game against the Braves in Pittsburgh. In the seventh inning, Zip Collins pinch hit for Gibson and Leo Murphy for pitcher Al Mamaux. Murphy remained in the game catching and the new pitcher, Phil Slattery, was placed in the eighth spot in the lineup. However, in the bottom of the ninth, the Bucs had a runner on a two out. The next batter should have been Slattery but Murphy came up one slot early and struck out to end the game.

ByTom

9/25/1915 – The Pirates had catcher George Gibson batting eighth and the pitcher ninth in their game against the Braves in Pittsburgh. In the seventh inning, Zip Collins pinch hit for Gibson and Leo Murphy for pitcher Al Mamaux. Murphy remained in the game catching and the new pitcher, Phil Slattery, was placed in the eighth spot in the lineup. However, in the bottom of the ninth, the Bucs had a runner on a two out. The next batter should have been Slattery but Murphy came up one slot early and struck out to end the game.

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9/6/1915 – The Cubs were in St. Louis for a holiday double header. In the bottom of the second inning of the first game, with two out and Tom Long on first, Bruno Betzel tripled. However, Frank Snyder was the proper batter but Cubs manager Roger Bresnahan did not notice. Snyder then batted (also out of order) and singled in Betzel. The mistake was not discovered by the Cubs until the fifth when Snyder and Betzel batted in the proper order, which they did for the rest of the contest. The Cardinals won the first game, 3-2, in 12 innings and then swept the Cubs, 10-0.

ByTom

9/6/1915 – The Cubs were in St. Louis for a holiday double header. In the bottom of the second inning of the first game, with two out and Tom Long on first, Bruno Betzel tripled. However, Frank Snyder was the proper batter but Cubs manager Roger Bresnahan did not notice. Snyder then batted (also out of order) and singled in Betzel. The mistake was not discovered by the Cubs until the fifth when Snyder and Betzel batted in the proper order, which they did for the rest of the contest. The Cardinals won the first game, 3-2, in 12 innings and then swept the Cubs, 10-0.

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8/18/1914 – The St. Louis Browns were in Washington playing the Senators. The Browns batted out of turn for most of the game without consequence. In the bottom of the eighth inning, 3B Jimmy Austin was ejected for arguing a safe call at 3B on Howie Shanks. SS Bobby Wallace moved to 3B and Doc Lavan entered the game at SS. Here is the lineup as presented to HP umpire Billy Evans and how they batted for the first eight innings.

ByTom

8/18/1914 – The St. Louis Browns were in Washington playing the Senators. The Browns batted out of turn for most of the game without consequence. In the bottom of the eighth inning, 3B Jimmy Austin was ejected for arguing a safe call at 3B on Howie Shanks. SS Bobby Wallace moved to 3B and Doc Lavan entered the game at SS. Here is the lineup as presented to HP umpire Billy Evans and how they batted for the first eight innings.