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Hello baseball enthusiasts. Each month I will post a play that should challenge your baseball rules knowledge and may even force you to knock some of the dust off of your rule book. I will try to give you a good mix of plays including some from the annals of recreation ball where anything can happen; that should get you thinking. Anyway, it should be fun.

I will post the answer (with explanation) when I post the following month’s play. Updates will occur around the 1st of the month (or as soon as I can get it in). All rulings are made for major league rules (Official Baseball Rules) only - sorry no breakdown for NCAA or NFHS.

BA - Current Batter
BR - Batter/Runner

R1 - Runner who began at 1B
R2 - Runner who began at 2B
R3 - Runner who began at 3B

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October, 2005

Play: The home team is winning the game at the end of five innings 6 to 4. As rain clouds begin to gather, the visitors score 5 runs in the top of the 6th inning to take a 9 to 6 lead. Now, with rain falling as the home team bats in the bottom of the 6th, you do everything in your power to squeeze in the remainder of the inning. Try as you may, safety becomes an issue and with runners on first and third with one out and a 2-1 count on the batter, you call for a rain delay. After waiting the prescribed time, with rain still falling and the field awash, you decide the game cannot condition. How is the game recorded?

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Previous Three Months

Don't have a rule book - check out Official Baseball Rules On-Line.

September, 2005

Play: With no out, the offense has R1 on 1st and R2 on 2nd. The catcher seeing R2’s extended lead, calls for a pitchout. F2 catches the pitch and fires to 2B behind R2 and catches him flat-footed. A rundown on R2 ensues between F6 and F5, R1 advances toward 2B. As F5 is chasing R2 back toward 2B, F5 quickly throws to F4 who tags R1 who is now on 2B. As R2 now moves toward 3B, F4 throws to 3B but the ball is bobbled and rolls a couple feet past the fielder covering. This allows R1 and R2 to return to their original bases, (1B and 2B respectively). It’s your call. No problem, right?

So you say everyone is safe and the defensive manager approaches and protests that R1 is out because he was tagged on a base to which he had no right. So, how certain are you of your call?

Answer:

R1 and R2 are safe: they retreated safely to their original base.

Ruling:

There is no direct reference in the current Official Baseball Rules. The nearest applicable rule is 7.03 which says. “ Two runners may not occupy a base, but if, while the ball is alive, two runners are touching a base, the following runner shall be out when tagged. The preceding runner is entitled to the base.” [Editorial Note: provided the preceding runner is not forced to advance.]

However, this situation does not have two players touching a base at the same time. When the rules were re-written before the 1950 season, Rule 45 Sec. 3, which addressed this exact situation, did not make the transition. That rule states “In case a runner is being run down between bases, and the following runner occupies the same base the first runner has left, the second runner cannot be put out while holding said base. If the first runner, however, returns safely to the base he left, and both runners are then occupying the same base, thje second runner is the man out, if touched with the ball.”

August, 2005

Play: You are officiating a recreational game and are the lone umpire. The game is tied in the late innings with two out with runners R1 and R2 on first and second respectively. The speedy R2 has a large lead as the batter hits a sharp single to right. The right-fielder fires toward the plate (but off- line) to play on R2. As R1 rounds 2B, the throw is cut off and fired to F6 at 2B which catches R1 flat footed, off base about 15 feet beyond 2B. R1 decides he best hope is to get back to 2B. From his current position (wide of second base and about 5 feet on the outfield side of the straight line (baseline) between 2B and 3B) he fakes to his left and twists to his right (into the baseline) a gets around F6 to get back to 2B untouched. Just before R1 touches 2B, R2 crosses home plate. It’s your call.

Answers:

R1 is out for running “out of the baseline”. His out is recorded at the time he avoids the tag which is prior to R2 touching the plate, so R2 does not score.

Ruling:

There is a difference between the written rule and the way it is interpreted and enforced. A runner does not (and cannot physically) “circle” the bases by squaring off the corners. When a batter-runner reaches first base, his speed requires him to round the corners. Simply, a runner might not be in the baseline when the attempt to tag him begins. For that reason the baseline is interpreted as the line between where the runner is (the physical spot) when the attempt to tag him begins and the base he is attempting to advance or retreat to.

OBR 7.08; Any runner is out when_ (1) He runs more than three feet away from a direct line between bases to avoid being tagged unless his action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball; . . .

July, 2005

It is time for a quiz. It is often said that baseball is a game of inches. We all know that inches add up to feet and that together feet and inches become measurements. Baseball is loaded with measurements; let’s see how many you know. Supply the following measurements as you would find them on in major league game – as defined by the Official Baseball Rules.

1. ________ T he width of home plate.
   
2. ________ The dimensions of a batter’s box.
   
3. ________ The dimensions of the pitching rubber.
   
4. ________ The diameter of the pitcher’s mound.
   
5. ________ The distance from home plate to second base.
   
6. ________ The width of the “three foot runner’s lane” (to 1st base).
   
7. ________ The length of the runners lane (to 1st base).
   
8. ________ The circumference of a baseball.
   
9. ________ Maximum diameter of a bat.
   
10. ________ Maximum length of a bat.

Rulings:
All dimensions of field and equipment can be found in rules 1.05 through 1.10 of the Official Baseball Rules. The answers to this month's quiz are below. Do not advance until your have written your answers on paper.

Answer:
1) 17 inches 2) 4 x 6 feet 3) 6 x 24 inches 4) 18 feet 5) 127 ft. 3 3/8 in. 6) 3 feet (of course)
7) 45 feet (last half of 90’) 8) not less than 9 inches or more than 9 ¼ inches 9) 2 ¾ inches 10) 42 inches

 

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