There are tons of baseball abbreviations used on tv, news articles, and in fantasy sports used that it can be difficult to keep up with all of them. The term PO gets thrown around from time to time in baseball, and what is confusing for the casual fan is that there is actually a couple of meanings. What does PO mean in baseball?
The primary definition of PO in baseball is “Put Out”, which is given to the fielder that physically makes the out of the runner through stepping on a base, catching the third strike, or catching a fly ball by the official scorer. The other meaning of PO that is commonly used is “Pitcher Only”, which is used to describe pitchers that do not play any other positions.
Contents
- What does PO mean on a baseball roster?
- What is the meaning of a putout?
- What is an assist in baseball?
- What is the difference between a putout and an assist in baseball?
- What does a force out mean in baseball?
- Who gets the putout for a strikeout?
- What is an unassisted putout?
- What is an unassisted double play?
- What are some of the rarest baseball Putouts?
- Who has the most career putouts in major league baseball history?
- How does the catcher get a putout?
- What position gets the most putouts in major league baseball?
- What catcher has the most throw outs?
- Does PO mean pitcher only?
- What is an outfield Assist?
- Conclusion
What does PO mean on a baseball roster?
PO on a baseball roster usually refers to “Pitcher Only” meaning that the pitcher’s only position on the team is a Pitcher.
In little league baseball up to the high school level, it is common for pitchers to play multiple positions. So your best pitcher may also be your cleanup hitter and one of the best hitters on the team.
As you move up in competition, the positions get more specialized and coaches start to designate Pitchers as “Pitchers Only.” Pitchers only typically work with a designated pitching coach at the college and major league baseball levels.
During practices, the pitching coaches run a completely different practice schedule than the hitting coach does as the pitchers go through specific drills and practice routines that are exclusively focused on Pitching.
It is very rare for a pitcher to hit and pitch above the high school level and only very gifted athletes are able to do so because of the time it takes to be consistent at either of those skills.
One recent example of someone who is a dominating pitcher and hitter is Angels all-star Shohei Ohtani.
What is the meaning of a putout?
A put-out is a performance that records the out during a baseball game. The easiest way to remember what a put out is is to classify them into different categories:
- Catching a Fly Ball
- Touching a base to record an out
- Tagging a runner with the ball
First basemen who catch throws off of infield ground balls normally record the most put-outs in a game.
A put-out is not necessarily a statistic of any skill since the only thing the players that get credited with them are basically doing is catching the ball and completing the out from the defensive player against the batting team..
Here is a list of all-time put-out leaders by season going back to 1901.
What is an assist in baseball?
An assist in baseball is the person who was the next to last person to contribute to an out. This could be an infielder that throws a ball to a first baseman from a batted ball or bunt or anyone that is the last player to touch the ball before it makes its way to the person who physically records the putout.
Pitchers are not credited with assists on strikeouts.
What is the difference between a putout and an assist in baseball?
A putout is when the person records the actual out and an assist is to the fielder who last touches the ball before it makes its way to the fielder who records the final out. The best way to think of the “assist” in baseball is similar to a basketball assist statistic.
What does a force out mean in baseball?
A force play out is when a runner is forced out by the fielder due to having before him on the immediate base. For instance, if there is a runner on first and the batter hits any ground ball outs into the infield, there is a force out at second base so the opposing team only needs to record an out at second to register an out.
If there is a gap between runners with a base, there is no force out and the fielder that is furthest away from home can stay on the base they are on without advancing to the next base.
For instance, if you have a runner on second base with no one on first and a ground ball is hit to the shortstop, the runner on second can stay at second without being forced to advance to third base because there is not a runner at first base ‘forcing’ advancement to the next base.
Who gets the putout for a strikeout?
The catcher is given a putout for every strikeout that is thrown by the pitcher except for a dropped third strike when the catcher has to throw the ball to first base to get the runner out and the first baseman will be awarded the putout.
What is an unassisted putout?
An unassisted putout is when a fielder fields a ball and records the out themself by stepping on a base or tagging the runner to force an out. Unassisted putouts aren’t as common as traditional putouts, but you will see them frequently by middle infielders on balls hit up the middle as they attempt double plays.
What is an unassisted double play?
An unassisted double play is when a fielder physically records the act of getting both outs by themself. You typically see these in games when hard hit line drives are right at a first baseman or middle infielder.
Here is a good video highlighting some of the top unassisted double plays:
What are some of the rarest baseball Putouts?
The 9-3 putout is one of the rarest in baseball and we found an awesome video compilation that showcases some of the best putouts in professional leagues:
Who has the most career putouts in major league baseball history?
Jake Beckley has the most career putouts in major league baseball history with 23,767 over 20 seasons ending in 1907.
The closest modern-day player near the top of all-time put-out list is Eddie Murray, who played 21 seasons for 5 teams in both the American and National League and has 21,265 putouts and is 4th all-time.
How does the catcher get a putout?
According to Baseball Reference, catchers get putouts when batters foul a third bunted strike, strikeouts with no one on first base and less than 2 outs, batting out of order, when a hitter is touched by their own batter ball, or when the hitter refuses to go to first base.
It can a little confusing to keep track of put-out statistics which is why the casual fan may have a difficult time understanding all of the different ways to get a put-out.
What position gets the most putouts in major league baseball?
Catchers and first basemen record the most putouts in baseball due to the catcher catching the third strike on strikeouts and the first baseman recording the third out on catching throws on ground balls thrown across the infield.
What catcher has the most throw outs?
Ivan Rodriguez leads catchers in all-time putouts with over 14,864 with Yadier Molina (14,512) trailing him.
Here is a breakdown of the all-time putouts with PO credit by the catcher position:
| Catcher | Putouts |
| Ivan Rodriguez | 14,864 |
| Yadier Molina | 14,528 |
| Jason Kendall | 13,019 |
| Brad Ausmus | 12,839 |
| AJ Pierzynski | 12,600 |
| Brian McCann | 12,048 |
| Gary Carter | 11,785 |
Does PO mean pitcher only?
Yes, in addition to “PO” being used to describe “putouts,” PO is often used to describe pitchers only.
In high school baseball or youth baseball, there are rarely “pitchers only” since most players play multiple positions on a team. As you reach higher levels of play, there are more “pitchers only” that are strictly focused on pitching.
College coaches even have dedicated pitching coaches for the pitcher-only role and typically have their own practice plan that differs from the position players. I remember going to college hoping that I would get a chance to hit and pitch on the college team despite being recruited as a pitcher. The coach gave me one at-bat during an intrasquad game and then said he had seen enough and sent me off to permanently be a “pitcher only.”
What is an outfield Assist?
An outfield assist is when an outfielder throws a ball into the infield and an out is recorded. Some of the leaders in all-time assists from the outfield have the strongest arms in baseball history as a rocket arm is needed to get major league players out before they can get to the bag.
Here is a list of the players with the most all-time assists from the outfield:
| Player | Outfield Assists |
| Tris Speaker | 449 |
| Ty Cobb | 392 |
| Jimm Ryan | 375 |
| Tom Brown | 349 |
| George Van Haltren | 349 |
| Harry Hooper | 344 |
Conclusion
Putouts are a part of baseball history that often do not get discussed as the most commonly used baseball terminology does. While putouts down necessarily indicate a high level of skill, you need a reliable person at the two most likely positions for putouts; first baseman and pitchers.
These positions sometimes go unnoticed, but they are critical to the flow of the game. You want to make sure you have sure-handed players at both the Catcher and First Baseman positions that have good hand-eye coordination to rack up those putouts while playing baseball!
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