It is possible for a pitcher to participate in a game without officially facing a batter. This can happen when a baserunner is
picked off or
caught stealing to end either the inning or the game. For example, in a game between the
San Francisco Giants and
Philadelphia Phillies on August 4, 2016, San Francisco's
Sergio Romo entered the game in the bottom of the 9th inning with the game tied and 2 out. Romo threw four pitches to
Aaron Altherr before
César Hernández was caught stealing second base to end the inning, after which Romo was replaced. The Giants went on to win the game in
extra innings and Romo was the
winning pitcher despite never officially facing a batter. A pitcher could also not record a batter faced if he gets injured and has to be replaced before the completion of a plate appearance.
Larry Yount holds the distinction of being the only pitcher in major league history to appear in the record books without ever having officially faced a batter. In Yount's case this was also true in a literal sense as he was injured while throwing a warm-up pitch on his debut and never entered the game, but was credited with doing so due to having already been announced. ==See also==