Long, long ago, MLB ruled that if a team made two mound visits in an inning the pitcher was pulled. A rule so old that I think I was a teenager, so maybe in the early '60s.
Dennis Lin
Aug. 7, 2026 Updated 10:46 pm EDT
One night after burning through eight pitchers in a 13-inning walk-off loss, the Chicago White Sox blundered their way into another pitching conundrum. They made one mound visit too many to rookie Noah Schultz, forcing their starter to leave Friday’s 8-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians after recording only one out.
No one was warming in the bullpen when White Sox manager Will Venable walked onto the field after Schultz gave up a two-run single in the first inning. But because the White Sox had already sent pitching coach Zach Bove to speak with their 22-year-old lefty following a hit-by-pitch, major-league rules dictated they needed to make a pitching change.
Momentary confusion ensued and umpires conferred. As right-hander David Sandlin scrambled to get loose in the bullpen, it was announced that Schultz needed to depart. He had faced five batters and thrown 23 pitches. Sandlin, a rookie the White Sox intended to bring in after Schultz later in the game, escaped the inherited jam by retiring two batters with five pitches.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7500034/2026/08/07/white-sox-mound-visits-noah-schultz-guardians/I don't think a manager has ever broken this rule. Until Venable.
