NEW YORK — The Cincinnati Reds batted out of order in the ninth inning of Sunday’s 8-3 loss to the New York Mets, resulting in a 10-minute delay as umpires and managers sorted out the confusion.
Backup catcher David Ross came to the plate to lead off the inning and lined out. But the batter in the No. 8 spot should have been outfielder Corey Patterson, with Ross hitting ninth after an earlier double switch.
Mets manager Willie Randolph came out to inform the umpiring crew of the mix-up. Patterson was charged with the out, which officially counts as a putout by the catcher, and Ross came up again. This time, he singled.
Reds manager Dusty Baker said the batting order was correct on the dugout board and on his scorecard.
“The guys hit out of order, and it’s my job to catch that,” Baker said. “So I take full responsibility.”
Baker said his only other experience with a team batting out of order came when he was a player and he was the one who hit when he wasn’t supposed to. When he came up the second time, he hit a three-run homer.
Crew chief Dale Scott said he’d never seen it happen in 23 years of umpiring.
“Batting out of order can be one of the more confusing rules,” he said. “You have to really think it through. We wanted to make sure we were doing it right.”
After the game, with Patterson standing in the next locker, Ross was asked if he was buying dinner for his teammate that night.
“Oh, yeah, that’s definitely true,” Ross said. “We’ve already discussed it.”
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