An illegal substitute is defined as:

• A. A player who enters the game without reporting.
• B. A player who re-enters the game in the wrong position in the batting order.
• C. Any player who re-enters the game; once any player is removed he can never re-enter the game.
• D. A, B, and C.

Answer: (B)

Re-entry rules govern substitutes: a player who has been removed from the lineup may re-enter the game, but only in the same spot in the batting order that he originally occupied. If that re-entry occurs in a different batting-order position, it is an illegal substitution. That exact situation is what this item is focusing on, which is why describing an illegal substitute as a player who re-enters the game in the wrong position in the batting order is the precise definition being tested.

Entering the game without reporting to the umpire is a separate issue (often treated as an unreported substitution), but it isn’t the definition of illegal substitution itself in this context. And saying that any re-entry is illegal or that all three scenarios are illegal misstates the rule, since re-entry is allowed when done in the proper batting-order position. For example, a player who was batting ninth when removed must re-enter and bat ninth again; re-entering as the new leadoff would be illegal.