What is a PO?

Young players who try out different positions early on find the right one. Some children can do all three in one game. Some kids discover that they prefer to be a pitcher than any other position. This is due to skill development and time. This is the origin of the phrase PO in baseball or “pitcher only”.

What is a PO in Baseball?

A pitcher is also known as “PO” and is a player who plays only as a pitcher. This happens at both the high school and college levels of baseball.

 

The Pitcher Only (PO), position is named after the fact that it focuses on pitching and not hitting.

A large percentage of coaches believe that Pitchers Only have advantages over other players who do not play this role. These players can be isolated from the rest of the team during practice sessions.

The rest of the team will be doing batting and fielding drills. However, the Pitcher Only (PO), who is a part of the team, will be working on the side with a pitching coach to develop their pitches.

 

It is believed that pitchers who spend more time trying to be the best will have better chances of winning. The idea behind being on the field is to prevent the opposition from scoring. How better to do this than with a strong pitching team?

Some coaches don’t have to be as strict about what a Pitcher is. They are able to see the potential of a player and the value they bring to the team. Some players are excellent hitters and runners, and can even play the field in pinch.

Shohei Ohtani, Anaheim Angels in Major League Baseball is a good example. He was a dominant hitter at the plate with 46 home runs. He was also a skilled pitcher. He won nine games and lost only two, with an ERA 3.18. There were 156 strikeouts in 130/3 innings.

FAQ Pitcher Only

Is PO a ‘Pitcher Only?

However, it does not always work in every situation. In professional leagues, PO usually refers to a putout. In baseball, PO is used at both the high school and college levels to signify that a player is a ‘Pitcher Only” and will not play any other position.

 

What is a PO for High School Baseball?

As we have discussed, college and high school baseball coaches refer to players who only pitch as “Pitcher Only.” Baseball purists disagree with this view of things. They believe that a player should be involved in all aspects of the game.

 

Pitchers are required to bat in leagues that do not have a designated hitter. They must also be able to execute sacrifice bunts. While not many balls are returned to the pitcher, it is important that pitchers can still field their position.

Some argue that focusing on pitching is the best way to be a dominant pitcher, which has a significant impact on the outcome of a game.

What is SO and How Does It Relate to PO

Although it may look similar, SO is not the same as PO. Although SO can be used to refer to a “strikeout”, the letterK is often used to score to indicate a strikeout. PO can be referred to as SO in a certain sense. A strikeout is one form of a putout.

 

Putout (PO)

A putout, in its simplest form, is when a fielder makes a run for a batter or runner of the opposing team. This can be done in many ways.

You can catch a flyout, catch the third strike for an out, tag a runner to get a tagout and tag a base for a successful appeal. These are some of the options:

Flying in a Flyout

A batter is called a flyout when a ball goes airborne and a defense player captures it before it hits ground. This is often called a “Popout” if the ball does not leave the infield, or a “Foulout” if it is caught in foul territory.

 

All the cases above are where the fielder who caught the ball is given a putout.

 

The Third Strike:

Common misconception is that a pitcher gets credited with a putout if he strikes out a batter. This is not true. This is not the case if you examine statistical records. Nolan Ryan is an example. He was the all-time Major League strikeouts leader with 5714 but had only 220 career putouts over 27 seasons.

The catcher is the player who is credited with a putout.

Forceouts and tagouts

A fielder who catches a groundball while his foot is on the base that the batter or runner is required to go to is awarded a putout.

A fielder must tag a player out with the ball or glove containing it if he isn’t required to run on a batted baseball but tries to reach the next base.

 

The putout is awarded to the fielder who performs this act. The umpire will also reward the player who catches the ball and tags the base after a successful appeal play.

Putout versus Assist

Although there are often misinterpretations of a putout or an assist, there is a clear distinction between them. An assist is when one player helps another player to get the putout.

Imagine a groundball being hit to shortstop and a runner at first base. To get a second baseman to throw, he can do so. In such cases, he receives the assist and the second baseman receives the putout.

Similar to the previous example, if the shortstop throws at first base, the firstbaseman gets the putout and the shortstop receives the assist.

A pitcher does not throw the ball to the catcher when he strikes out pitches. However, the pitcher isn’t given an assist or putout. A strikeout is the specific statistic that applies to the pitcher.

Major League Baseball Career Leaders for Putouts

No matter what position, Career Leaders

1. Jake Beckley – 23799.
2. Cap Anson – 22695
3. Ed Konetchy 21361
4. Eddie Murray – 21255
5. Charlie Grimm – 20711
6. Stuffy McInnins – 19962
7. Mickey Vernon – 19808
8. Jake Daubert – 19634
9. Lou Gehrig – 19510
10. Joe Kuhel – 19386

Season records by position

Pitchers

1. Dave Foultz, 57 in 1886
2. Tony Mullan – 54 in 1882
3. George Bradley – 50 years ago
4. Guy Hecker – 50 Years in 1884
5. Mike Boddicker, 49 in 1984
6. Larry Corcoran – 47 years old in 1884
7. Al Spalding, 45 in 1876
8. Ted Breitenstein – 45 in 1895
9. Jim Devlin – 44 in 1876
10. Dave Foultz 44 in 1887
11. Bill Hutchinson 44, 1890

Catchers

1. Johnny Edwards – 1135, 1969
2. Yadier Molina – 1113 in 2016
3. Yadier Molina – 1082 in 2017
4. Russell Martin – 1065 for 2007
5. Yadier Molina – 1064 in 2015
6. Mike Piazza – 1055 in 1996
7. Dan Wilson – 1050 1997
8. Mike Piazza – 1045 in 1997
9. Michael Barrett – 1035 in 2004
10. Jason Kendall – 1015 1998

First Basemen

1. Jiggs Donohue, 1846 in 1907
2. George Kelly – 1759, 1920
3. Phil Todt – 1755 in 1926
4. Wally Pipp – 1710 at 1926
5. Jiggs Donahue – 1697 in 1906
6. Candy LaChance – 1691 In 1904
7. Tom Jones – 1687, 1907
8. Ernie Banks – 1682 in 1965
9. Wally Pipp – 1667, 1922
10. Lou Gehrig – 1662 in 1927

Second Basemen

1. Bid McPhee, 529 in 1886
2. Bobby Grich – 484 in 1974
3. Bucky Harris – 483 on 1922
4. Nellie Fox – 478 in 1956
5. Lou Bierbauer – 472 in 1889
6. Billy Herman – 466 on 1933
7. Bill Wambsganss, 463 in 1924
8. Cub Stricker – 461 on 1887
9. Buddy Myer – 460, 1935
10. Bill Sweeney, 459 in 1912

Third Basemen

1. Denny Lyons – 254 in 1887
2. Jimmy Williams – 251 at 1899
3. Jimmy Collins – 251 at 1900
4. Jimmy Collins – 243 on 1898
5. Willie Kamm – 243 in 1928
6. Willie Kamm – 236 in 1927
7. Frank Baker – 233, 1913
8. Bill Coughlin — 232 in 1901
9. Ernie Courtney – 229 in 1905
10. Jimmy Austin – 228 at 1911

Shortstop

1. Donie Bush – 425 in 1914
2. Hughie Jennings 425 in 1895
3. Joe Cassidy – 408 In 1905
4. Rabbit Maranville 407 in 1914
5. Dave Bancroft – 405 on 1922
6. Eddie Miller – 405 in 1940
7. Monte Cross – 404 in 1898
8. Dave Bancroft – 396 on 1921
9. Mickey Doolan 395 in 1906
10. Buck Weaver – 392 on 1913

Left Fielders

1. Joe Vosmik – 432 in 1932
2. Rickey Henderson – 407 in 1980
3. Elmer Valo – 396 in 1949
4. Ralph Kiner – 390, 1947
5. Bobby Veach – 384 on 1921
6. Ben Oglivie – 384 in 1980
7. Ralph Kiner – 382 on 1948

Center Fielders

1. Taylor Douthit – 547, 1928
2. Richie Ashburn – 538 in 1951
3. Richie Ashburn – 514 in 1949
4. Chet Lemon – 512 in 1977
5. Dwayne Murphy, 507 in 1980
6. Dom DiMaggio – 503 in 1948
7. Richie Ashburn – 503 in 1956
8. Richie Ashburn – 502 in 1957
9. Richie Ashburn – 496 in 1953
10. Richie Ashburn – 495 in 1958

Right Fielders

1. Babe Ruth – 392 on 1932
2. Al Kaline – 387, 1961
3. Dave Parker – 381 1977
4. Ichiro Suzuki – 381 in 2005
5. Ichiro Suzuki – 379 in 2004
6. Austin Kearns 374 in 2007
7. Hunter Pence – 374 for 2013