What is the fewest number of pitches that could be thrown by the winning pitcher in a regulation 9 inning...

Are you sure it was the winning pitcher? The usual form of that puzzle does not
specify either way. The answer is that the fewest number of pitches possible is
25, and they are thrown by the losing pitcher, who is on the visiting team,
which lost by a score of 0 - 1.

Of course with all of the esoteric rules of baseball, you'll get a variety of
numbers, but I believe 25 was the answer originally intended.

-- Mike Naylor <you.know.him@you.love.him>

25 is the answer to what is the fewest pitches required for a pitcher who
pitches a complete game that is not shortened by rain.

As for the this thread's question.  The answer is 0.
2 outs, top of 9, score tied, runner on first.
Reliever comes in and picks off runner at first.
Home team scores in bottom of ninth.
Reliever gets the victory without having thrown a pitch.

-- Roland Curit <rolandc@norfolk.infi.net>

Well, everyone seems to have slightly different interpretations of the
rules for who is the 'winning pitcher' in a baseball game, so I
wandered over to url

     <http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com/library/rules10>

and checked. Somewhat simplified, the winning pitcher (in a full 9
inning game) is:

  1) The starting pitcher, if he pitched five full innings,
     his team was ahead when he was relieved, and remains
     ahead for the remainder of the game.

or (the relevant part to this question)

  2) The winning relief pitcher shall be the one who is the pitcher of
     record when his team assumes the lead and maintains it to the
     finish of the game.

Thus, Mr Curit and others who have proposed zero are correct, and Mr
Curit's example works.

-- Marty Fouts <fouts@null.net>

[ Editor: from the rec.puzzles thread "Baseball", October 1995. ]

nyknick@gramercy.ios.com (Nick Kleszczewski) wrote:
>25 nope.
>
>Consider a pitcher who is warming up to batter #1.  but  Visiting team
>pulls their 1st batter before a pitch.
>then as a counter move your manager puts the pitcher in right field...
>where he stays the rest of the game.
>
>So hows 0 sound!

The official rules of baseball provide that a pitcher must pitch to one
batter before being substituted or moved to another position.  See
below.  See also http://www2.pcy.mci.net/mlb/rules/ for a complete copy
of the rules of baseball.  The one exception to this is the situation
where a game is suspended.  When the game is resumed, the pitcher may
resume pitching, or may be replaced by a substitute (but then may not
reenter the game).  The rules make no mention as to whether the pitcher
may continue in the game but at a position other than pitcher.  I
suspect that if he remains in the game when it is resumed, the pitcher
would have to face at least one batter.

3.05 (a) The pitcher named in the batting order handed the
umpire-in-chief, as provided in Rules 4.01 (a) and 4.01 (b), shall
pitch to the first batter or any substitute batter until such batter is
put out or reaches first base, unless the pitcher sustains injury or
illness which, in the judgment of the umpire-in-chief, incapacitates
him from pitching.

-- Dean G. Huffman <perinatl@slip.net>

In article <199510291653.IAA09027@slip-1.slip.net>, perinatl@slip.net
says...
>3.05 (a) [...] unless the pitcher sustains injury or illness which,
>in the judgment of the umpire-in-chief, incapacitates him from
>pitching.

What if he is incapacitated from pitching, but not from playing right
field-- can he be moved without pitching to the first batter?

-- John J. Vriezen <vriezen@millcomm.com>

Good question.  I do not know the answer.  I suspect that if he is
incapacitated from pitching, he is incapacitated from playing any other
position, otherwise the umpire would figure, "If he can play right
field, he can face at least one batter."  But I do not know for sure.

-- Dean G. Huffman <perinatl@slip.net>