Baseball · WBSC / Rule 13
Pitcher changes and mound visits
WBSC · 2025–2026In short
When a pitcher may be replaced and how conferences are controlled.
Replacing a pitcher
The starting or substitute pitcher ordinarily must finish facing a batter or finish the half-inning before replacement. Injury or illness judged incapacitating permits an earlier change. This is a single-batter requirement in the supplied WBSC rules, not the MLB minimum. A removed player cannot return as a player.
Visits and conferences
A repeated managerial visit to the same pitcher in an inning can require removal, and visits during the same batter have additional restrictions. The umpire decides when a conference starts and ends and enforces the applicable time limit. Do not treat every catcher conversation as a manager’s substitution or assume an MLB visit allowance.
Independent explanations and translations, not official federation publications. Based on the supplied WBSC Official Rules of Baseball 2025–2026, including its event-specific appendices. References use physical PDF pages. Explanations are condensed; the supplied edition and its stated competition conditions determine scope.
Sources & approach ↗
Sources & approach ↗