pitcher re-entry

Question
what is the official rule on re-entering a pitcher after taking him out as pitcher? he was taken out of the game and put in the dugout and not in another position on the field. he was not over his limit as far as innings he could pitch. can he be re-entered as pitcher?

Answer
hi doug
thanks for the question. sorry about the delay, but i have been away for the last 2 days.

this is an interesting question because each organization can have a different rule for this situation. i can not say what the rule is for your organization, however, i can say that for many organizations the pitcher would not be allowed to come back and pitch. this might not be the case for everybody, but this is the case in many.

why? it is very difficult for a pitcher to warm up, pitch, sit and cool down and then have to warm up again and pitch. once a pitcher shuts it down he tends to relax mentally and cool down physically. some times a player may want to ice right away.  based on this, many people feel that it is safer for the player not to be put in the situation where he would have to pitch again.

hope this helps.
steve