Called game

A called game is one in which, for any reason, the umpire in chief terminates play. Grounds for calling a game include:

1. A legal curfew or league-allowed time limit;
2. Weather that makes the field unplayable;
3. Darkness, if the ballpark lacks lights or is not legally allowed to use its lights;
4. A failure of the lights or any mechanical field device, such as a tarpaulin roller, that makes the field unplayable; or
5. A forfeit.

Depending on circumstances, a called game may either end immediately or be suspended and continued later. Games are always suspended if they must be called because of curfew, time limit, darkness (in a park with legal restrictions on the use of lights), or lighting or mechanical failure. Games called because of weather or darkness (in parks without lights) are normally over immediately. An exception is when the game has become an official game by being played for 5 or more innings and the score is tied or the visiting team took the lead in the top half of the current inning and the home team has not yet retaken the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Forfeited games are never suspended. The statistics from a called game count if, and only if, the game was official when it was called.

If a game is suspended, it is continued at a later date. The game picks up exactly where it stopped, including the number of outs, runners on base, and the batting count. Players who had been substituted for before the suspension are not allowed back into the game. If a team's roster changes between the time when the game is suspended and when it is resumed, the new players are allowed to play in the game even if they took the roster spot from a player who had been substituted for. A player who has been traded from one team to the other between the suspension and resumption of the game is allowed to play for his new team, which allows one player to play for both teams in a single game.

Suspended games are preferentially resumed:

1. Before the next single game between the two teams at the same park.
2. Before the next doubleheader between the two teams at the same park.
3. Before the next single game between the two teams at the visiting team's park (if there are no more games between the teams at the same park).
4. Before the next doubleheader between the two teams at the visiting team's park.

If the game is the last game of the season between the two teams, it will be played after the end of the season, but only if it can affect the pennant race. Suspended games that are not completed are treated the same as called games; statistics from the game count if it has become official. A game that was suspended with the score tied and not made up will count as a tie in the official standings.

References

• Major League Rule 2, which defines called and suspended games
• Major League Rule 4.10-12, which describes the conditions for calling and suspending games