What is a PO in Baseball: Expert Explanation in 2022

What is a PO in Baseball?

Baseball is one of those sports that are full of short forms, gestures, and acronyms. PO (Put Out) is one of those famous acronyms. Putout is often referred to as Put Out. It is given to a fielder when he out a hitter or runner.

However, based on the method that the player was out the PO will be given differently to each player.

In addition to this, always remember that there is a significant difference between both putout and assist. Let’s look at what are the common ways to get PO. This will help us understand What is a PO in Baseball.

What does PO mean in Baseball?

PO means Put out or putout. Put-outs are credited to the fielder’s performance when they make a throw and out the batter or runner.

Also, in much simpler words we can say that when a fielder physically participates in an outing with a hitter, a Putout point is credited to them. The more Putout points a fielder gets to mean the better he performed during the match or overall league.

 

Why is a Putout important?

When it comes to the importance of Putout, experts have different opinions. However, all of it comes down to Putout being stats that offer clarity to fans about which player is performing well in the game.

Showing Putout stats to fans and the audience helps them clarify if a player they are thinking about choosing for their fantasy baseball league is worth it or not. It also helps officials like coaches and managers to understand how well it will be for their team to take on a certain player. Coaches also take the Putout of fielders into account when considering a strategy for matches.

 

Common ways to get Put Out

• Force play: Force out or force play is one of the most common ways a field can get Putout. It also requires more than one fielder working together to put a batter out. It happens when the ball is hit and a fielder catches or stops the ball, and throws it back to the pitcher. If the pitcher successfully catches the ball, it’s Putout.

 

• Tag play: Tag play is similar to force play. It happens when a fielder targets the base the batter who is running rather than tagging the base they are running to. Remember that for a tag play or tag out, a batted ball is not necessary. A fielder can tag out a player trying to pick off or base stealing.

 

• Fly ball: When a fielder flyout someone or directly catches the ball to out the batter, it is called a fly ball. That is also applied when the batter hits the ball in the foul zone too.

 

• Strikeout: Strikeout is the most common way a batter gets out. When the batter misses and doesn’t hit the ball three consecutive times. And, all those three consecutive times, the fielder catches the ball. A PO is added to the fielder as Strikeout.

 

• Interference: Interference is one of the rarest Put Out. Though there are a total of four terms that are known are interference. Only two out of those four are considered for credit to Put Out. The first case of those is the offensive interface. This oneca happens when a person from the batting team interferes in gameplay.

The second case is called fan interference. This happens when someone from the audience interferes with the game. After the delay caused by the fan, the pitcher gets a Put Out point.

 

• Appeal plays: The final way to get a Put Out is known as appeal plays. In this, the defensive team makes an appeal to the referee for an out. If the referee thinks that it is a valid Putout and agrees to it. The Put Out point is credited to the defensive team. Appeal plays also known as the appeal out.

Put out Records in Baseball (rarest baseball putouts)

Let’s take a look at all the top career PO in major league history

The top career PO baseball records

S. No.	Name	PO
1	Jake Beckley (20)	23767
2	Cap Anson (27)	22572
3	Ed Konetchy (15)	21378
4	Eddie Murray (21)	21265
5	Charlie Grimm (20)	20722
6	Stuffy McInnis (19)	20120
7	Mickey Vernon (20)	19819
8	Jake Daubert (15)	19634
9	Lou Gehrig (17)	19525
10	Joe Kuhel (18)	19386

 

 

Single Season PO Number in league baseball game

 

S. No.	Name	PO	Year
1	Jiggs Donahue (27)	1846	1907
2	High Pockets Kelly (24)	1759	1920
3	Phil Todt (24)	1755	1926
4	Wally Pipp (33)	1710	1926
5	Jiggs Donahue (26)	1697	1906
6	Candy LaChance (34)	1691	1904
7	Tom Jones (33)	1687	1907
8	Ernie Banks (34)	1682	1965
9	Wally Pipp (29)	1667	1922
10	Lou Gehrig (24)	1662	1927

 

What is Pitcher Only (PO) in baseball? And Does PO mean pitcher only?

 

The Pitcher Only or Pitchers Only is another term that shorts for PO. However, both Pitcher Only and Put Out are different in this sport. Though Pitchers Only (PO) is mostly called out in college or high school leagues rather than MLB (Major League Baseball).

The Pitcher Only term refers to when a player is appointed to only Pitching rather than playing in all positions based on the requirement.

For example, the players might practice more often away from the rest of the team on skills that others might not utilize. Or the PO players will be using equipment that most other players won’t use to develop themselves differently.

Since a PO is a player that only pitches, that player’s coach will most probably be making the player practice differently.

However, since all MLB players are required to have all decent rounding performance, there is no requirement to appoint a Pitcher Only player in MLB.

So, when it comes to asking how Pitcher Only and Put Out are different? They are simply different terms that happen to have similar lingo.

Beside when a fielder is out a batter or runner is called Put Out. And, when a player is appointed to the team only to pitch. It is called pitcher only.

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here in this blog of a putout (po), now we are going to discuss some of the most common FAQs. Let’s take a look at frequently asked questions by our readers and other fantasy baseball league players.

Do strikeouts count as PO in Baseball?

The short answer to Do strikeouts count as PO is “NO”. The strikeouts are only awarded to pitchers. To understand it better, when a pitcher outs a hitter directly by throwing very fast-paced balls, the batter couldn’t make a hit. That is called strikeout.

Now, on the other hand, in the case of a Put-Out, when a fielder outs the hitter. It is called PO. So, both PO and strikeouts are different than each other.

 

What is the difference between Putout and Pitcher Only in Baseball?

When it comes to knowing the difference between putout and pitcher only. You need to know that both are very different than each other. The only two common things between Putout and pitcher only are baseball and their initials P.O.

The Pitcher Only like its term means a player that is on the team just to make a pitch. This is very common in high school and college baseball leagues. Coaches sometimes appoint a special student with a strong arm as a pitcher and train them accordingly. The Pitcher Only here plays on the pitching field and not on any other.

On the hand, Put Out is when a fielder outs a batter or baserunner. They do it by catching the ball and tagging the base the batter is running towards.

Remember that unlike high school and college leagues, MLB team players are decent all around apart from being specialized in a category. This is why there is no requirement for having a pitcher-only player on the team.

 

What is the difference between PO and assist?

Fundamentally both PO and assist are similar to each other. The only difference here is when a fielder directly out a batter by tagging him. It is called PO (Put out).

On the other hand, when he throws a ball at the shortstop rather than tagging the batter or baserunner directly. It is called assist. Now the only difference here is who out the batter or baserunner. Simply by assisting to out a hitter, both the fielder and shortstop player gets the points. The shortstop player gets a Put-Out point and the fielder gets an assist point.

 

Who Has the Most POs in MLB History

When it comes to having the most POs in MLB history, there are two different categories? The first one has the most POs during the entire career and the second one has the most POs in a single league season.

Jake Beckley (20) holds the record for having the most POs throughout his career. He amazingly achieved 23767 POs, which makes him the holder of most POs in his complete career.

Jiggs Donahue (27) on the other hand, scored 1846 POs in the 1907 league. This makes him the holder of the most POs in a single season.

 

Conclusion

Here is all that you needed to learn about what is a PO. Put out is one of the best and simplest stats that show how a fielder is performing during their season. Or, how many of the baserunners or hitters they outed throughout their career by tagging them before reaching the base?

MLB provides PO stats to coaches, managers, fantasy baseball leagues, and the general audience. This way everyone from coaches to managers to fantasy baseball leagues can easily make sure to choose only the right player for their team. Only based on their performance.

 

Remember that PO means both the Put Outs and Pitchers Only. A pitcher only means a player that is specifically designated to pitch in the match. This player does nothing but pitch only during the match. Also, Pitcher Only is much more common in high school and college matches. However, they are not so common when it comes to MLB.

Similar to other baseball stats like RBI, WHIP, DFA, FPS, the PO(Put outs) stats are only there to help you understand baseball much easier and in simplified form.